Son of the Alchemist
by TheSkyWriter
Summary: Big Time Rush. Four best friends that have skyrocketed into the limelight, but with a price. Instead of crazy fans demolishing the studio doors, it's a doctor with a quarrel with one of the band members. Now with his identity revealed, he rushes to keep his brothers from harm while trying to fulfill a prophecy: The Four that are One, the One that is All. Nothing will be the same.
1. Preface

The night was deathly silent, the stars were cold as a sixteen year old boy yanked a woolen pouch away from his father's neck, his father still, cold, and pale. He slipped the cord of the pouch around his own neck and tucked it under his tunic, away from the view of anyone else. Inside the pouch itself was a priceless artifact, one that had come with a terrible burden to any who carried it. The boy's breath hitched in fear as a twig snapped somewhere around him, and he bolted from the side of his father, and only ran faster as his voice shattered the silence of the night. "Go ahead and run, boy! Run as far and as fast as you can! Create as much distance as you possibly can from me! I will find you! I always will find you!"

The boy gulped and pushed himself, despite his exhausted body, fumbling steps, and heart laden with grief for his late father, to run faster, harder. And he didn't stop running for a very, _very_ long time.


	2. Chapter 1

" _You got me paralyzed, paralyzed, p-p-p-paralyzed_ ," The final lyric ended with an abrupt but perfectly timed stop of the music, ending the song effectively. Logan Mitchell, raven-haired producer and member of the ever-growing-in-fame boy band Big Time Rush, grinned from his place at the sound board, waving his bandmate Kendall Knight out from the sound booth.

"Great job, Kendall." Logan congratulated the lanky blonde twenty-one-year-old with a quick high five. Leaning against the wall was the third member of the band, the self-proclaimed pretty boy James Diamond, and seated on the black leather couch next to him was the fourth and final member, one Carlos Garcia.

"Our second album is going to be even better than our first!" James proclaimed, his hazel eyes glowing with excitement and pride as the 'pretty boy' combed his dark bronze hair from his eyes. He'd cut it from its original shaggy do a month or so ago, but it was still long enough to brush his eyebrows, occasionally falling into his eyes. Carlos whooped and high-fived James in agreement, the Latino's own dark brown orbs shimmering. Kendall was too busy chugging a water bottle to join in the mini-celebration. Logan fiddled with the buttons on the sound board, his chocolate eyes displaying his concentration.

"Hey, Logan," A freakishly large male with chocolate skin and wearing a black suit by the name of Freight Train poked his head in the studio door. Logan looked up and questioningly raised an eyebrow at the security guard. As the owner of the small but popular recording studio, he had a surplus of security and hired help. There was no telling what kind of rats would try and sneak into the building, especially in Los Angeles. "There's a guy down in the lobby, says he knows you, insists on seeing you."

If Logan had been a little more alert, a little more careful, he would have frowned at the security worker and demanded to know who this man was. But Logan had become complacent, and simply said. "Alright, escort him up. Thank you, Freight Train." The large man nodded in return and disappeared, the door shutting behind him with a click.

"Hey, um, Logan?" Carlos asked uncertainly. Logan spun in his chair and raised a black eyebrow at his best friend. "How come you never talk about your parents?" Logan froze, his chocolate eyes wide, and James promptly smacked the back of the tactless Latino's head.

"My mother died when I was just a newborn. My father passed away when I was sixteen. There's not much more to tell." Logan eyed him. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I was just curious, I guess." Carlos muttered.

Logan smiled softly. "Curiosity is not a sin, 'Litos, but you should learn caution." He warned gently. "Might find yourself in some bad situations if you ask the wrong questions just because you were curious."

How was it that a twenty-one-year-old man could sound so young in voice but so old in tone at the same exact time? It was a mystery the other three members of the band had yet to figure out. Logan had always seemed older, wiser, than his own age… "Do you mind telling us a bit about your father?" Kendall asked gently. Logan wasn't the only one with a deceased parent. While the situation was sorrowful, and Kendall would never wish the misfortune of a lost parent, it was kind of nice to have someone to relate to. "What was he like?"

Logan reclined back in his chair and raked a hand through his raven black hair, set up in a spiky quaff. "He and I were always close. We would go to town on Saturdays and listen to the street performers, magicians and musicians of all kinds. After the morning had passed we would go to the lake and talk." Logan smiled as his eyes swam with memories. "He taught me everything I know." Kendall, James, and Carlos smiled.

"Beautiful story, Mr. Maxwell, or is it Mitchell now? Logan Mitchell?" A male voice that sent shivers down Logan's spine asked quietly. Logan froze in his seat. No, no, not here, not now, not with _them_ ….

"I'm afraid we won't be needing your services here today, Doctor." Logan coldly stated, his own voice chilled like ice as he turned to face the so-called Doctor, a thin and elder man with a black ponytail, cold blue eyes so pale they were almost colorless, and dressed in a long fur coat, black button up shirt, and long black trousers with buckled boots. A long thin scar reached down across his forehead and over his left eyebrow, ending where his eyelid began. A small smirk danced on his thin lips. It wasn't one of warmth or even amusement. But of _danger_. "Freight Train, this man has overstayed his welcome. Get him out of here." Logan commanded. The guard nodded and reached for the doctor.

His hands never touched him. Carlos and James let out cries of shock and Kendall gasped as Freight Train was blasted backward and into the wall with a resulting boom and a small earthquake that was kept inside this room. Logan's gaze never left the doctor's, although his heart twisted with guilt.

"That was beneath you, Dee." Logan informed the man icily. Dee just shrugged, that smirk still on his lips as a pulsing, dark yellow light enveloped him, and the sour odor of rotting eggs filled the air. Kendall, James, and Carlos gagged at the stench with watering eyes. Logan just crinkled his nose. A deplorable smell for a deplorable man, Logan supposed. _Suitable for the doctor_.

"No magic today?" Dee mocked him, the strange yellow light pulsing like a heartbeat.

"Guys," Logan warned slowly, although the dangerous grin on his face differed from the slight worry inside his eyes. "Get down. Now!" The other three members of Big Time Rush shared a look before diving face first behind the sofa, just as the scent of blueberries mixed with the sulfuric odor. Kendall, James, and Carlos peeked over the couch just in time to see a vibrant turquoise glow bloom around their bandmate like a protective cocoon, almost similar to a second skin. They watched in total awe as Logan raised his hand and a bright blue ball formed in his palm, a split second before it collided in the chest of one Dr. Dee. The doctor yelled as he was plunged headfirst into a bookshelf, levelling it and sending the entire contents to the floor. The yell of anger turned into a cry of delight, and Logan paled just before he lunged at the doctor, both wrestling for a small book it seemed like. The doctor managed to flip Logan onto his back on the mess and wrench the book from his hands. "You lose today, Maxwell." Dee spat at the dazed Logan before bolting out the door, the book in his grasp.

"Oh, god." Carlos fretted, racing over to his friend and pulling him to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"I've had worse. I'll live. Maybe." Logan grunted, then looked at his hands. His pain morphed into delight and he cried out in joy. In his hands were two yellowed pages of parchment with strange lettering and frayed sides where they had been torn.

"Okay, since no one else is going to ask, I'm going to." James declared in an irritated and freaked out voice, making Logan freeze. _Oh dear…_ " _What_ the _heck_ just happened?"

"I think there was a gas leak here in the studio. So, what we all just witnessed was some rather vivid hallucination." Logan suggested hopefully.

Carlos snorted. "Lame."

"Very lame." Kendall agreed,

"I thought it was rather appropriate!" Logan defended himself.

"Three problems with it though." Kendall informed him.

"Such as?" Logan prompted.

Kendall pointed to the bookshelf, or the destroyed remains of it where Logan and Dee had done battle. James pointed to Freight Train's body, still lodged in the wall, and was beginning to smoke. Carlos pointed at the pages in Logan's hand, the ancient text moving across the pages. "We're not hallucinating about any of this." Kendall insisted.

Logan sighed. He suddenly appeared much, much older than his age. "No. Unfortunately, you're not." He studied the pages in his hands and grinned.

"Good news?" Carlos asked.

"Very." Logan nodded, his grin widening. "He's missing the Final Summoning."

"Again, if no one will ask, I will. _Who_ the heck are you, and _what_ the heck just happened here?" James demanded. "No more evasive answers, no more trying to convince us we're hallucinating. It's time you told us exactly what's going on here."

Logan sighed, and flopped back down in his chair. He was silent for a long moment, and then he spoke. " _Time_." He breathed. " _Time_ , James, is the key word." His chocolate brown eyes levelled with their own. Suddenly, they were aged, burdened with time. "My name is Logan Maxwell. I was born in the year 1832 in Paris, France. My father died when I was sixteen in 1848."

"But that's," Kendall began to protest.

"Impossible?" Logan supplied with a humorless chuckle. "I assure you, Kendall, everything about me is impossible. I am immortal."

"But, wouldn't that make you," Carlos began.

"I just celebrated my 181st birthday. One you three believed to be my twenty-first." Logan interrupted. He sighed again. "I've spent my entire life running from that deranged doctor, from the masters he serves, spent over a century protecting that book, and now Dee has it. In a flat seven seconds, he was able to steal it from me." Logan raised his head, his chocolate eyes on fire. "We need to leave, now. It won't be long before Dee realizes that he is missing the last section of the Codex, and we need to be as far away from here as possible when that happens."

"Wait, there's more to it than that, isn't there?" Kendall demanded as Logan tucked the pages into a woolen pouch that hung from a thin cord around his neck and was practically invisible under his shirt.

"Too much more to be told right now, Kendall. I've explained all that I can right now. The most important thing right this second is a safer place. So, come on. Dee _will_ be back, and we can't be here when he is."

SOFA

Logan sighed dejectedly as he locked the doors to the studio. "I loved this studio." He stuffed the keys, and his hands, into the pockets of his jeans and began to briskly walk down the sidewalk. "Come on now, don't dawdle!" He called over his shoulder at Kendall, James, and Carlos, who shared a look then hurried after him. "Walk fast, but don't run. You never run unless you're seconds away from death. You have every right to be here. On your way to work, to a meeting, to a date, or to class." Logan informed them under his breath. "Just another person in the city going about their business." Kendall was already falling behind. Logan may not be tall or particularly long-legged, but he was fast, even at a simple walk, and Kendall found himself reaching for the immortal man's arm to tell him to slow down just a tad. Kendall let out a hiss as an electric current burned up his fingers and into his arm before he even touched Logan.

"Whoops. Sorry, Kendall." Logan muttered apologetically. "Didn't shock you too bad, did it?"

"Nah, I'm okay." Kendall shook out his arm to rid it of the leftover tingles. "What was that, though?"

"Yeah, what was that?" James repeated, suspicion lacing his tone.

"Ever touch something metallic and it shocks the living daylights out of you?" Logan asked in reply. All three nodded. "Same concept, different form. My aura is still charged up, and that was a reaction of yours encountering mine. Not static, auric." Logan smirked at the blonde. "It also means your own aura is very powerful."

"What's an aura?" Carlos asked curiously. Logan thoughtfully paused and looked around.

"See that?" Logan pointed. The group had paused right next to a tattoo parlor, and the immortal was pointing to a poster on the glass window. On the poster were some promotive phrasing with glowing letters. "The glow around the words?" The other three nodded. "Basically, that's an aura. _Aura_ is Latin for _breath_. Not so basically, it's an electrical field around the body. In old times, people could see this glow, and it was named the _aura_. Over time, as humanity evolved, people lost the ability to see the aura, and it was forgotten about. Only a select handful can see the aura now."

"So, what does it look like?" Kendall asked.

Logan pointed back to the poster. "Just like that, a glow around the body. You saw Dee's aura back at the studio, and you most likely saw mine. Auras are as rare and diverse as the people of this world. They come in any and all colors of the rainbow, and while some of them may pulse like a heartbeat, others envelope the body like a protective skin." Logan began walking again, though, to Kendall's relief, a tad bit slower than before.

"Can you see the auras?" James asked. Logan shook his head.

"I am not of the few. But they are out there. I know how to direct and manipulate the energy. That's what you saw in the studio. Pure auric energy." Logan explained.

"I think I'd like to learn to do that." Carlos mused. Logan stopped and turned to look at him.

"Be careful what you wish for, Litos." Logan warned him. "Every use of the aura, even the smallest, have their effects, their costs." He pulled his hand from his pocket and held it out. It was trembling visibly, and they looked into his eyes to find them bloodshot with the faintest hints of dark circles under his lids. "Each time, you burn as much energy and calories as a marathon runner. Think of it as draining a battery. You don't extend the battery's charge, you just learn how to use it more wisely." They walked along the pavement and didn't speak for several minutes, Kendall, James, and Carlos considering what they had just been told.

"You mentioned a book?" Kendall began.

Logan nodded. "It's called the Codex, the Book of Abraham the Mage." He informed the blonde.

"What's so special about it?" Kendall asked.

Logan spun on his heels and held out his arms in crucifix fashion. "Look at me!" He exclaimed. " _Look_ at me! I'm older than your great-great-great-grandparents! I should be in a grave somewhere! Long dead and forgotten! _That's_ what is so special about this book!" Logan pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply. Kendall, Carlos, and James recognized it as the 'Please don't make me raise my voice, I don't have that much patience to spare right now' expression. Seeing something this familiar reminded them that even though this was all surprising and new, and very frightening, Logan was still Logan. "Dee has worked so hard for the last 167 years to get the Codex from me, and now he has it."

"Not all of it." Carlos reminded him.

"No, not all of it. But enough of it. That book holds so much power, there are spells inside that could reduce the world to a cinder. Even without the Final Summoning." Logan raked a hand through his hair. "If Dee manages to get the Final Summoning from me, the people I've worked so hard to keep from returning to the world will be unleashed, monsters, beasts, and demons all released from their cages. It will be the end of life. Humanity will be used as either slaves or food." Logan's eyes were grave. "You can't back out, not now. I'm sorry. I am very, very sorry, but now that Dee knows who you are, he will stop at nothing to get to you. Dee leaves no witnesses of his handiwork, no survivors of it, on Earth."

"You-you're saying he would kill us?" James squeaked.

"No, not kill you." Logan shook his head. Relief flickered across the others' faces before it vanished at the immortal's next words. "Dee can do much worse to you. So much worse."


	3. Chapter 2

Downtown L.A. was always busy no matter what time of day or night. Cars and people alike speeding off to wherever it was that they needed to go. All too concerned about their own lives to pay attention to those of others. Which worked very much in the favor of one Big Time Rush. "Ugh, this reeks!" Logan smirked slightly at Carlos's outburst. He had led the other three to an abandoned alleyway which had been used as a garbage dump, the stink of rotten food and other not-so-pleasant odors airborne.

"Nearly there." Logan informed them, leading the way around a curve in the alley. He paused as a girlish shriek echoed around the alley. He turned back to see James pale and pointing at something on the alley floor, his finger shaking. Logan looked down.

"R-R- _Rat_!" The pretty boy squeaked out.

"When did you become scared of a wittle rat, James?" Kendall teased the brunet.

"I wouldn't tease him, Kendall." Logan advised. "You noticed. We're being watched." Carlos and Kendall's eyes darted around as Logan gently took hold of James's elbow and encouraged him to continue walking. "The rat." The immortal nodded back the way they came.

"We're being watched by a _rat_?" Kendall demanded, his tone incredulous.

"Yes. Don't look back." Logan commanded. Too late. Carlos turned his head and gulped.

"Rats, um, rats don't usually have red eyes, do they?" The Latino asked nervously.

"No, not usually. It's a simple scrying spell." Logan explained grimly. "The doctor has discovered that he is missing the crucial piece of his plans. The rats can follow our scent until we cross water."

"Do they talk?" James asked.

"Don't be ridiculous." Logan snorted. "They're just rats. I'm far more concerned about those." Logan tilted his chin upward to the building tops, where a small flock of two or three black birds were settling down, their eyes trained on the travelers. "Crows." He grimly said.

"Is that bad?" Kendall asked. He was trying not to sound too nervous, but was failing.

"It could very well be, but I think we'll be fine." Logan shrugged, and shot them a small smile that was meant to be comforting. "I wouldn't let anything happen to any of you. Now hurry, we're nearly there." They followed the path of the alley to a wall made of white stones and was completely covered in dirt and grime. Kendall wrinkled his nose at the sight, but then saw that the immortal was raising his hand.

"You're not actually going to touch that, are you?" The blonde demanded incredulously. Logan didn't grace him with a verbal answer, instead placed his hand on the wall and spread his fingers, giving it a light but forceful shove. There was an audible click as a hidden doorway slid open just to the left of the immortal's hand. Logan gently shoved them inside just before the door slid back shut.

Laid out in front of the band was a spacious room with wooden walls and floors, and lit by the oil lamps hanging from the posts on the walls. On the opposite wall from the entryway was a thin wooden door. James made to step inside, to go to the door, but Logan quickly grabbed him and shoved him back, throwing out his arms to prevent anyone else from moving. "Stop." The immortal commanded. "Wait, look, notice. Keep those three words in mind, or else you won't survive the next few days despite my best efforts to protect you." He fished around inside his pocket, pulled out a single quarter, and tossed it up into the air. There was a mechanical hiss from no discernable place, and a dart punctured the quarter in midair, pinning it to the opposite wall. The entire process took only half a second, from the time the quarter left Logan's finger to the time it was pinned snugly to the wall. Kendal inhaled sharply and grabbed onto Logan's sleeve. Said immortal unearthed a simple white neckerchief from his inside jacket pocket and threw it out into the room as well. Another hiss, and a razor-sharp crescent scythe appeared from nowhere and sliced the neckerchief to ribbons before disappearing back to its hiding place. Another half-second process from start to finish. Carlos squeaked and grabbed Logan's shoulder.

"So, if the darts don't get you," James began softly.

"The blades will." Kendall finished in a whisper.

Logan nodded. "The three of you have left the safe world you once knew." He informed them darkly. "You must learn to pause before moving, listen before hearing, and to question _everything_."

"So how do we get to the door?" Carlos demanded.

Logan gave them a sly grin. "We don't." He slammed his fist backward into the wall, and a second hidden door clicked open to their immediate right. Logan ushered them all inside to a dimly candlelit room, smaller than the first, with wooden walls and floors, but on the floors were black mats. Seated on one of the mats in the very center was a figure cast in shadow with their back turned to the quartet. Logan addressed the figure. "We have a problem."

" _You_ have a problem." The figure replied in a female voice, lilted with an unidentifiable accent. Scottish, maybe? Or Irish? "Nothing to do with me."

"Dee found me today."

"It was only a matter of time."

"He killed one of my best security."

"That's new. But I wouldn't worry."

"He has the Codex." Logan informed her grimly. She turned and stood up, even in the dim light, her surprise was evident.

"The Codex?" She demanded. "The Book of Abraham the Mage?" Logan stiffly nodded. "Then you're right. We do have a problem." She stepped closer, and Kendall, Carlos, and James blinked in surprise. It _definitely_ was a woman, a very attractive woman, who looked no older than their age, with fire engine red and spiky hair, and large grass green eyes. She was dressed in camouflage tank, black jeans and combats. But there was something about her, something _off_ that Kendall couldn't place. Vaguely the blonde heard James mutter ' _So_ mine.' She tossed her head back and inhaled sharply, nostrils flaring. "Is that why I can smell Eyes?" She demanded.

Logan nodded. "We were followed. Rats and crows everywhere."

"And you led them here?" Her voice was disappointed. "I spent years building this place."

"There was nowhere else I could go." Logan informed them. "Nowhere this close, and certainly not with them." Logan nodded toward Kendall, James, and Carlos.

Her large green eyes swept over the three, and Kendall realized with a small jolt what was so off about her. She didn't blink. "And who is this 'them'?"

"I'd like you to meet Kendall Knight, Carlos Garcia," Logan began to introduce them and James confidentially strolled up to her, his classic flirty grin on his lips. Logan paused.

"I'm Diamond, James Diamond." The pretty boy introduced himself flirtatiously. The woman's eyes flashed dangerously. He reached for her hand, and she promptly flipped him over her shoulder, into the back wall.

"Do not ever touch me." She hissed. Dazed, James nodded. Kendall couldn't help but snicker.

"Overkill, you think?" Logan asked her, although he himself was grinning slightly in amusement. The woman just shrugged and glared a warning as James pushed himself to his feet. "Remember what I said about caution?" James scowled at him, and Logan chuckled. "Anyway, James, Kendall, Carlos, I'd like you to meet Scathatch. One of the Next Generation of Elders, and one of, if not the, greatest warrior to walk the Earth. In mythology, she is known as the Warrior Maid, the Shadow, the Daemon Slayer, the King Maker, the-"

"Oh, just call me Scatty." She interrupted, her cheeks turning the same color as her hair.

SOFA

"Can we trust them?" Scathatch asked.

"With our lives." Logan confirmed. "I _know_ them, Scatty, I trust them. Question is, do _you_ trust _me_?" The pair of immortals were holed off in Scathatch's private quarters, and the Warrior Maid was packing clothes and an assortment of handheld weaponry into a duffel, though Logan had raised his eyebrow at the pair of Colt .44 Magnum Revolvers.

"With my life." Scathatch answered instantly, without any degree of hesitation. "Ever since you rescued me from that Lycan prison seventy years ago."

"Then trust me." Logan pleaded. "I can't let them out of my sight. Not now, not after what Dee has learned about them, about their ties to me. They became my responsibility the second they stepped foot into that studio. I can't lose them. I refuse."

The Shadow studied him, then simply said. "You love them."

"As if they were my own blood." Logan confirmed softly. "Scatty, please, I need your help. I can't count on myself to keep watch over them 24/7. Until they can defend themselves, will you protect and train them?"

"Train them?" Scatty exclaimed. "Do you know what you are asking for?"

"I'm asking for legend's most magnificent warrior to train the closest things I have left to family. I dragged them into this, Scathatch, the least I can do is make sure that they get through it with as less cuts and bruises as possible. Please, Scatty, do this for me. Hopefully, it won't be for long." Logan attempted to reason with her.

"Hope-what are you planning, Alchemist?" Scatty demanded, eyeing the immortal man suspiciously.

"I can't say right now, not I'm sure I'm right about this. But as soon as I can say, I will." Logan replied evasively.

Scatty eyed him for a second longer before nodding with a sigh. "I do trust you, Logan, and because I trust you I will do as you ask. I will train them."

Logan grinned, relief shining in his chocolate eyes. "Thank you, Warrior Maid." Said maid rolled her green eyes at him.

SOFA

"Can we trust him?" James demanded, leaning against the marble counter top of the kitchen. The three band mates had been told to help themselves with the food in the small kitchen before Logan and the Shadow had slipped away to discuss 'matters not for your ears,' as Scatty had so bluntly put it. Kendall was seated at the pale wood table with a cup of coffee, and Carlos was seated _on_ the table with a banana. "He has lied to us since we met him. Are we sure that we shouldn't be running _from_ him instead of _with_ him?"

"I know, but I also think that everything he's lied to us about had to be for good reason." Carlos replied slowly. "And if he had told us the truth from the beginning, would we have believed him? Plus, there's the whole 'worse than death' thing with that Dr. Dee person. I think we're safer with him."

"Well said, Litos." Three heads turned to find the immortal himself leaning against the kitchen door frame, watching them with pained brown eyes. "I am so sorry for dragging you into this. If I could, I would let you leave this building right now, escort you all home myself and let you forget this entire ordeal. But I can't."

"Because of Dee?" Kendall guessed.

Logan nodded. "I have no doubt that if I were to let you leave here that he would have you in his snares within the second that I turn my back, and I _refuse_ to let that happen. I care too much about you. I won't take that risk." Logan sighed. "As soon as you signed that contract with me you all became my responsibility, and I take my responsibilities _very_ seriously." Suddenly, the immortal stiffened, his head tilting to the side. A snarl grew on his face, and he turned to Kendall, Carlos, and James. "Stay here." He commanded, before racing out of the kitchen. Scathatch met him out in the hallway, two small swords in her hands, and gave him a tiny nod.

"I'm so over this crap." James muttered, and hurried after the two immortals.

"James, wait!" Carlos yelled, he and Kendall chasing after their friend.

"I told you to stay in the kitchen!" Logan roared. But the three mortals weren't listening to him, their gazes locked down on the main foyer in horror.

Hundreds of rats were scurrying across the floor beneath them, managing to miss the darts and blades with their speed and small size. Large wax figurines were racing in after them, paying no mind to the darts that were penetrating their skins or the swords that were slicing through them. Whatever was hacked off melted into a mess on the floor and the figurines simply regrew the missing piece. "Golems." Logan muttered sourly. "It's always Golems."

"Like in Lord of the Rings?" Carlos asked in confusion.

"Nope, these are just men of clay. Or wax, or whatever substance that the enchanter can get his hands on. Just figurines with a simple animation spell. Dee always favored wax Golems." Logan shook his head, then turned his gaze on his three charges. "This time, _stay_ _here_." He ordered in a low growl. A light scent of blueberry was just barely tangible as Logan leaped over the edge of the terrace and down into the fray, his aura blooming vibrant turquoise around him and the smell of blueberries becoming more apparent. The immortal grinned, and his normally chocolate brown eyes painted themselves brilliant turquoise. Scathatch, who had been in battle since it had begun, noticed the change and stepped back, sheathing her blades. The scent of blueberries became almost overpowering, and the dojo began to shake and tremble. The rats paused and the Golems hesitated, unsure of what was happening. Logan raised his arms and tossed his head back, and behind him, appearing from nowhere, a large brilliant blue tidal wave rose, the water at the top soaking the ceiling.

"Whoa." Carlos breathed. Logan grinned widely, as if he were enjoying himself, and flung his arms forward.

The wave obeyed the movement of the immortal, and with a soundless roar, crashed over the dojo. The rats and Golems attempted to escape, but very few managed to. The water settled down and soaked into the wooden floors, leaving behind the bodies of many rats and large puddles of wax. Logan's aura vanished, as did the blueberry smell, and the immortal crumpled to the ground.

SOFA

James drove a large black SUV down the streets of Los Angeles, Carlos in the passenger seat, Scatty behind him, Kendall behind James, and Logan in the middle, with the immortal's head resting on the blonde's shoulder. His chocolate eyes were laden with exhaustion, and his entire body was visibly shaking. "So, are you a magician?" Carlos asked him.

"No, not a magician." Logan responded, his voice slightly rough. "I am an Alchemist, a man of science, though not a science you would be familiar with." He chuckled with no humor.

"And you're a liar." James muttered sourly. Logan lowered his eyes, but Scathatch hissed.

"You listen to me right now." She snarled. James's hazel eyes widened. "Logan has done nothing that denies your respect. His father was one of the greatest Alchemists of all time, and I have no doubt he will rise to that standard, even above it. Everything he has done he has done to protect you. He has lied, yes, but only to protect the ones he cares the most about. Logan would never intentionally lie or do anything to make you distrust him without good reason."

"Scatty…" Logan quietly protested.

The Warrior Maid ignored him. "I suggest you apologize." She growled.

James looked frightened. "I'm sorry." He squeaked out.

"Good." Scatty nodded in satisfaction, just as the car rolled onto the Jeremiah Flatt Bridge, a large 2,000-foot-long suspension bridge that exited out of downtown Los Angeles. Carlos peered out of his window and gulped.

"Hey, umm, I don't know if anyone else has noticed or not but," Carlos swallowed nervously. "Does anyone else see the large flock of birds gathering at the top of the bridge?" Kendall, Scathatch, and James's attention was suddenly out their own windows, and Logan peered out over Kendall's shoulder. Lining the top of the bridge, just as Carlos had said, were hundreds of crows, all watching the SUV as it drove along. Which wasn't very fast, because people were stopping all over the bridge to get a better look, some were even getting out of their cars to take pictures. James rolled down his window for a better view.

Logan placed his hand on the pretty boy's shoulder and stared him dead in the eye through the rearview mirror, his expression grim. "Drive." He commanded. "Don't slow down. Just get us off this bridge. Carlos, give me your phone."

"Why don't you use yours?" The Latino demanded.

Logan rolled his eyes. "Accidentally left it at the studio. Now give it here!" He commanded. Carlos obliged, albeit confused. Scathatch was currently tugging her nunchucks out of the backpack she had brought along with the duffel.

"Roll up your window, James." The Warrior Maid advised the driver. "We don't want anything getting in. Oh, I wish this car had a sunroof!" James immediately obeyed.

"You might get your wish here in a moment, Shadow." Logan muttered before pressing the phone to his ear. A split second later, chaos erupted. The flock descended on the Jeremiah Flatt, aiming for the speeding SUV that was swerving out of the way of other cars and pedestrians. James fought to keep the car steady as it was slammed into, rocking it and almost sending it rolling into the other lane. Scathatch rolled down her own window and stood up, her entire torso and arms going outside the car as she battled against the birds. Logan spoke hurriedly into the phone, but in a language that was nothing more than grunts and groans. Crows, small and large, covered the car, pecking and scratching at the windshield, windows, and metal exterior, trying to find an entry point but having no luck. Even more crows covered the windshield, blocking the view of the freeway. The car began to slow.

"Speed up!" Logan snapped.

"I can't see!" James shot back. Logan cursed in what sounded like Portuguese.

"Close your eyes!" Logan commanded. Even through their closed lids, James and Carlos could still see the burning ball of energy, smell the faint hint of blueberries, and hear the audible _boom_ as the ball collided with the windshield. James opened his eyes to a destroyed and very much open windshield, but it was very much clear. "Now drive!" Logan ordered. James didn't need to be told twice, and slammed his foot on the gas pedal.

"Uh, what are those?" Kendall squeaked, pointing out his own window. Logan looked and cursed again.

Coming back toward the bridge from the city appeared to be a large black thundercloud, but it boomed as if flying with a thousand massive wings. And it was heading straight for them. Logan grunted and groaned into the phone before he answered. "The Morrigan's special pets."

" _James!_ " Carlos suddenly screamed from the front seat.

"Don't even _think_ about it!" James snarled a split second later. Logan's gaze snapped up and saw the problem. A car was attempting to pull out of where it had parked. Its trajectory was the lane that they were currently driving in. Logan roared into the phone, a guttural sound, and suddenly the air was full of the smell of ripe pomegranates. The SUV was rocked as a harsh wind followed the scent, just as the humongous crows descended on it. The birds were blown away by the forceful gale, squawking angrily, and the car that had been trying to back out slammed on its brakes as the SUV sped past, hurtling past the toll booths and off the bridge. Scathatch sat back in her seat and rolled up her window, not a scratch on her as she tucked her weapons away. Logan handed Carlos his phone back and slumped back in his seat.

"What just happened?" Kendall demanded shakily. "What was that wind? Did you do that?" He asked Logan, who shook his head.

"Not enough energy to do it." The Alchemist answered tiredly.

Kendall looked at Scathatch, who shook _her_ head. "Not my power." She denied.

"Then what did you do?" Carlos demanded.

Logan gave a tiny smile. "Just phoned in a request."

 **Made up the name of the bridge. No such thing as the Jeremiah Flatt Bridge in Los Angeles.**


	4. Chapter 3

"Turn left here." Logan instructed James. The battered SUV, and its passengers, had left Los Angeles two hours ago, and had been driving through rural California for the better part of an hour, going North it seemed. James obliged, and Carlos turned to face Scathatch in the backseat.

"Do you know where we're going?" The Latino asked her.

"Hopefully I'm wrong." She grumbled, crossing her arms and leaning back against the seat. Her green eyes flicked out the open window.

"Somewhere safe." Logan assured him.

"Which is safer?" James muttered. "With you or without you?" Scathatch hissed.

"No, Scatty, it's alright. Let him get it out." Logan told her.

"Our lives have been in danger since we met you." James hissed. "You could've told us sooner. You were supposed to be our best friend, Logan!"

"What good would it have done?" Logan asked quietly. His eyes were a saddened chocolate brown. "Yes, James, okay? Yes. I've lied to you. I've deceived you. I refused to tell you who I really am. I refused to let you see this world, my world. You, Kendall, Carlos, the three of you have every right to be angry with me." Logan grasped James' shoulder tightly and used the rear view mirror to lock his own eyes on James' hazel. "The life that you saw when you first met me, it was fake. But the band never was. Our friendship never was." A tiny smile flicked across his mouth. "In the entire 165 years that I've walked this Earth alone, I can say that I've only enjoyed my immortal life a total of twice. One of which was the life I led with you three as Logan Mitchell, your producer, band mate, and best friend. Plus, if I _had_ told you that I was a 181-year-old Alchemist with an immortal warrior as a friend and ally and a book that had moving text with a magician after me, would you have believed me?"

"Probably not." James admitted.

"Yes, I admit that you were in danger as soon as you met me. But I want you to know that I kept this secret from you to protect you. All of you." Logan glanced around the car. "I thought that if I kept you in the dark, I would keep you safe."

"Well, obviously, it didn't work. Look at what's happened!" James motioned around. "Freight Train was killed. Our families are probably worried sick about us because we didn't come home today. What more to ruin our lives."

Sorrow and guilt flashed across the Alchemist's face. "James, you honestly think that I don't realize that?" Logan whispered. "Do you honestly think that I don't blame myself for what happened today? I knew Freight Train personally. He had dinner with me more than once. I was with him when he and his wife divorced. I knew his daughter. I know for a fact that I'm the very reason that little girl is going to live her life without her father. So, do you _honestly_ _think_ that I have _no_ _idea_ the effect on people's lives I leave behind? Everywhere I go, someone gets hurt. Today, Dee took it a step further. A good man, a better man than I, a friend, a son, a father was killed in cold blood for no reason at all, all because I became careless. And now an innocent four-year-old girl is going to suffer the consequences of my mistake." Logan swallowed and blinked, cutting his eyes away from James's own. The other passengers in the car realized that the immortal man was attempting to keep tears at bay.

"If I may cut in," Scatty began softly. Logan released James' shoulder and sat back in the seat, staring despondently at the ceiling of the car. "I understand your point, James. Truly, I do. But you must understand the lengths, the dedication, Logan has gone to in the past 165 years. Everything he's done, all that he's sacrificed," Logan blinked back a suspicious wetness in his eyes. "It's all been for your own safety, your own protection. Believe me when I say that if you think that Logan would ever put you in harm's way intentionally, you are thinking wrong. He cares for you very much. He's trying to keep you safe."

"Though I don't think any of us could have expected this." Kendall added lightly, effectively easing the heavy mood that had settled in the SUV. "181-year-old Alchemists, magicians," He paused with a glance at Scathatch. "Ancient warriors." The Warrior Maid dipped her head.

"Are you even human?" Carlos asked Logan curiously. Kendall reached over and smacked the back of his head. "What? I'm just asking!" Carlos yelped defensively.

"Yes, Carlos, I am of the race of the humani. I'm only immortal, and I'm proud of it." Logan smiled softly.

"But you," Carlos began, glancing behind him at Scathatch.

"No, I am not of the human race." The Shadow replied. "My people roamed this Earth before the humani climbed down from the trees, the Elder Race. We are the creatures of legend, the Were Clans, the Vampire, the Giants, the Dragons, the Monsters. In your mythology we are remembered as the Old Ones or the Elders. Some stories even called us gods."

"Were you ever a god?" Kendall asked curiously.

Scatty giggled. "No, I was never a god. But some of my people allowed themselves to be viewed as gods. We were simply a separate race than man, a different race, with different gifts, different skills."

"So how old are you?" James asked tactlessly.

"James!" Logan scolded shrilly. He vividly remembered each and every one of the weapons the Shadow had packed into her duffle bag. He didn't even _see_ what had gone into her backpack. "Don't be rude!"

"It's perfectly alright, Logan. I do not mind." Scathatch appeased the Alchemist, then turned back to the pretty boy. "I'm two thousand five hundred and seventeen years old, as you humans would measure with your current calendar." Carlos whistled. "And how old do I look?"

"Not a day over twenty-one." Logan replied quickly. Scatty nodded in satisfaction.

"Toto, we are no longer in Kansas." James declared suddenly. His eyes were wide as he slowed the car to a crawl. "There's something in the trees. Something moving." He informed the others.

"And I can see it." Carlos gulped, peering out of his side window. "They're pigs-boars." He corrected himself. "There's at least three on this side."

"Over here, too." Kendall added, staring out of his own window.

"Behind us, too." James pointed out, looking back in the rearview mirror. Logan and Scathatch turned in their seats in order to peer out of the back windshield. The cracks and scratches weren't making it easy to see, but the two immortals were highly trained in using their sight to the very best. Trolling behind and keeping pace with the SUV were three pony-sized deep brown boars with deadly sharp tusks that began at the width of Kendall's bicep and ended in needle sharp points. James pressed down on the brake, halting the car, and Kendall grabbed onto Logan just before the immortal could fall backward.

"Thanks." Logan whispered. Kendall just nodded.

"End of the road." James declared. In front of the SUV stood a thick wall of vines, trees, and thorn bushes, so thickly woven and tangled together even attempting to get out and walk through would result in major cuts and scrapes.

"Well, what do we do now?" Carlos demanded.

"If one were foolish, one would attempt to turn around. If one were foolhardy, one might step out of one's car." Logan replied idly.

"But we are neither foolish nor foolhardy." Scathatch snapped. "These look like Gaulish war boars. Virtually impossible to kill. And when one is out in the open, three more are in the bushes. And that doesn't count their handlers."

"They aren't Gaulish." Logan corrected her gently. "This particular breed has no need of handlers. Look at their tusks." Both Scathatch and Carlos peered closely at the tusks from the side windows, as did Kendall and James.

"There's some kind of carving." Kendall squinted his emerald eyes.

"Curls?" Carlos guessed.

"Spirals." Scathatch breathed in awe. "They are Torc Alta?"

"Exactly." Logan confirmed. "Wereboars."

"Wereboars. So, is that like Werewolves?" James asked nervously.

"Of course not." The Warrior Maid snorted.

James relaxed. "Good, 'cause I thought you meant men that changed into boars."

Scathatch continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Wolves are Torc Madra. A completely different clan altogether."

"Oh, how silly of me." James muttered sourly. "So, what do we do?"

"We drive." Logan answered simply.

"The barrier," James gestured to the thick growth directly in front of the SUV.

"Do you trust me?" Logan interrupted. His chocolate eyes fell on each of the other three members of Big Time Rush, directing the question at all of them. Carlos immediately began to nod, Kendall followed a second later, and after a small hesitation, James also nodded, although a bit stiffer. "Then drive." James let out a puff of air and lightly pressed down on the gas pedal. The car began to slowly inch forward, and amazingly, passed right through the barrier as if it wasn't there at all.

"What-How-?" Kendall turned and stared at the thick growth that was now behind them.

"That was just a mirage. An illusion cast by light and water bending to reflect the trees and brush on the side of the road. And a little magic to make it look a little more intimidating." Logan explained. "We are still in North America, but we have entered the Shadowrealm of one of the oldest and greatest Elders of all time."

"Oh, she's _old,_ alright." Scatty grumbled. "But I'm not so sure about _great_."

"Scathatch, please. Behave yourself." Logan requested.

"I don't like her. I don't trust her."

"You've got to set aside your old feuds. Isn't good for you, you know." The Alchemist informed the Warrior.

"She tried to _kill_ me, Logan." Scathatch reminded him. "She left me stranded in the Underworld. It took me centuries to find my way out."

James' hazel eyes flashed and he sat up straighter in the drivers' seat, stopping the van simultaneously. No one seemed to notice. "Um, guys?"

"If I remember correctly, that was fifteen hundred years ago." Logan replied calmly, patiently.

"I have a long memory." Scatty grumbled, crossing her arms and sitting back like a sulky child.

"Guys?" James called, his voice louder and pitched with nerves. "That wouldn't happen to be a woman with black skin, would it?" Everyone's gazes snapped to outside the broken windshield, the three in the backseat leaning forward to get a closer look.

"That's her." Scathatch mumbled glumly, reclining back against the seat. A woman who looked to be around thirty-five years old was standing in front of the SUV. Her skin was jet black, as if she were carved out of obsidian stone during her creation, and her eyes were the color of melted butter. Every bit of her features were sharp and defined, from the high cheek bones, to the angular curve of her nose, and from the sharp line of her jaws to the thinness of her lips, so thin they were practically invisible. She was beautiful, but it was the kind of beautiful that would be applied to the local strict teacher or librarian. There was no kindness nor warmth in her face or eyes. Over her body flowed a silken dress like a silvery waterfall, and it wafted and moved with an invisible wind that was focused only on her. Her bright red hair was piled into a bejeweled silver tiara on the top of her head.

"Doesn't look a day over ten thousand." Scathatch muttered.

"Be nice." Logan commanded gently.

"Who-," Carlos began to ask.

"This," Logan answered, a lilt of respect in his voice. "Is the goddess Hecate."

"The Goddess with Three Faces." The Shadow grumbled bitterly.

"I'm going to talk to her." Logan announced, then gave the Warrior a look. "Behave." He stressed before exiting the car and bowing low to the goddess. Thanks to the busted windshield, the occupants of the SUV could hear every word spoken between the ones on the outside.

"Alchemist." She acknowledged him.

"I want to thank you properly for sending the Ghost Wind to us." Logan formally said. "It was of great help." The goddess motioned for him to rise and held out her hand. Lying inside her palm was a tiny smartphone.

"Such handy little devices." She purred. "The humani are becoming craftier as time passes." Hecate's butter eyes drifted past the Alchemist's shoulder and to the vehicle. "And you bring some with you."

"The doctor John Dee discovered where I had been hiding. The humans in the car were with me when Dee attacked me. They witnessed everything, and you know as well as I that the doctor leaves no witnesses." Logan explained. "I had no choice."

"Three teenagers and a warrior." Hecate mused, walking towards the car. "Step out of the vehicle." She commanded. Kendall, Carlos, and James hesitated, their eyes cutting to Logan. The immortal nodded reassuringly, and they climbed out of the battered SUV, Scathatch followed more slowly. Hecate smiled forcefully at the Warrior Maid. "Hello, Scathatch. It has been many years."

"Not enough if you ask me." The redhead muttered. Logan subtly rolled his eyes.

Hecate chose not to respond, and instead turned to the Alchemist. "Come here." She ordered. Logan immediately obeyed, standing on the other side of Carlos. "Give me your hands." She instructed, holding out her right hand. Logan, again, followed her orders exactly, slipping his left hand into the palm of the Elder. Carlos nervously laid his hand over Logan's, then Kendall, then finally James. Hecate covered James' hand with her left hand and muttered something in a strange language that sounded like ancient song lyrics.

"What is _that_?" Kendall gasped breathlessly, his emerald eyes flying wide open. A sweet-smelling scent filled his nostrils, laid heavy on his tongue, and almost made his eyes begin to water. It was almost the scent of vanilla. Kendall shook his head. It was too tart to be vanilla. Far too fragrant and sharp, but still sweet and fresh.

"Is that cinnamon?" James breathed. The odor of freshly ground cinnamon was both tantalizingly sweet and unforgivably spicy, making James' nose burn and tongue tingle. It was perfectly balanced between spicy and sweet, not too much of one or the other, and James inhaled deeply.

"No, it's coffee." Carlos disagreed in a whisper, his voice laced with awe. The smell of his favorite brew of coffee-crisp, hot, and newly poured into his mug, just before he would add the sugar and creamer-enveloped him like a cocoon, reminding him of home, of comfort and security. Carlos looked down at himself and gasped in surprise.

Surrounding the Latino's body and pulsing like a frantic heartbeat was a deep bronze glow, _an_ _aura_. Carlos remembered. This was his aura. Carlos's eyes shot to the sides, to his best friends.

Logan's turquoise aura, accompanied with the scent of freshly picked blueberries, was no surprise. Carlos's eyes drifted down to Kendall and James, and he grinned.

Kendall's aura flowed and pulsated around the blonde like a protective cloak, and was the color of molten steel. Along with the steel aura came a scent that Carlos couldn't name. It was sweet and fresh, but sharp and fragrant at the exact same time. Carlos moved onto James, and nearly coughed at the sharp twang of cinnamon that hit his nose, together with the burgundy red aura that crackled and wafted around the brunet like the flames of a fire. Hecate dropped their hands and their auras faded from existence and walked away, and Logan shot them all smiles right before chasing after her.

Kendall turned to Scathatch, who was leaning against the side of the SUV as if waiting for something. "What just happened?"

"She was analyzing your auras." The Warrior Maid explained. "I'm actually not that surprised. All of your auras are particularly strong and pure, steel gray, dark bronze, and burgundy red, along with the scents of wisteria, coffee, and cinnamon."

"Wisteria?" James demanded.

Scathatch nodded. "That was the scent that came from Kendall's aura. The scent of the wisteria. Logan's own scent came from the ties to his parents. Logan's mother had owned a blueberry patch before she had died. Logan and his father spent so much time tending to that patch; it was the only time he ever learned anything about his mother. It's why Logan's aura smells like fresh blueberries; it's also why Logan's in love with anything blueberry."

"Who were Logan's parents?" James asked curiously.

Scathatch shook her head. "I never met his mother, and his father, well, he was one of the most legendary people. I've told you too much already. I don't like sharing someone else's private history."

SOFA

"Their auras are very strong. Very powerful and pure." Hecate mumbled to herself.

Logan swallowed thickly. "Madame," He began cautiously. "In the attack, Dee was able to steal the Codex from me. I plan to get it back before he can use it, but I will fail if I have to constantly keep an eye on them for danger."

"If you are asking if they can stay here with me-." Hecate warned dangerously, her butter eyes narrowing to slits.

"I am not." Logan hurriedly amended. "I am asking you to Awaken their magical potential. If they are to really survive, they need to be Awakened."

Hecate glared down at the Alchemist. "I shall think on the matter. My answer will be given to you at dinner."


	5. Chapter 4

"There's something very weird about this place." Carlos mused, pacing about the bedroom with a thoughtfully confused expression on his face.

Kendall snorted. "Something weird? Carlos, we're in a _tree_!"

After Hecate had examined the auras of Big Time Rush, she had invited the band and Scathatch into her home, which just so happened to be a humongous lively tree that could effortlessly put the tallest California Redwood Sequoya Trees to shame. Several hundred feet, very possibly more, in diameter and several tens of thousands of miles, also very possibly more, tall. James had wondered if the treetop could touch the moon. Logan had called it the Yggdrasil, the World Tree, the very same tree that connected all nine worlds in Norse Mythology. Hecate had given each of them their own private rooms and had commanded them to wait until dinner to leave them. James and Carlos had slipped unnoticed into Kendall's room, where the blonde was sitting at the wooden desk in the corner and James was seated on the wooden bed as Carlos paced the wooden room. It was very bare for a bedroom in a tree, but James guessed that their hostess didn't plan on them staying for very much longer. "Not to mention that I feel a little worn out since getting here." The blonde admitted.

"It's the Yggdrasil." The three males turned in surprise at the Warrior Maid, who was casually leaning up against the doorway. "It draws on your energy for power. Not enough to harm you." She added, seeing the pretty boy's jaw clench.

"That explains why my fully charged phone is suddenly very much dead." Kendall grumbled, tossing the mentioned device on the desk. "Why aren't you coming in?" He asked Scathatch, eyeing her position in the door.

"You have to invite me in." The Shadow explained. "Or I can't cross the threshold."

James' eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Like a vampire?"

"James!" Carlos scolded the brunet. "Scathatch, please come in." The Warrior Maid hopped over the threshold and into the room, her arms crossed casually over her chest.

"I just came to tell you that dinner will be ready in a bit." Scatty informed them. "Logan's already gone down."

"Good for him." James snorted under his breath.

Scathatch turned her evergreen eyes on him, her gaze so unrelenting that it made James curl away from the immortal woman slightly. "Do not be so hard on Logan. Not only for the reasons we gave you in the car, but for this reason as well. He has lost so much since he became immortal and gained very little. He doesn't do this for pleasure. He does it because it is the right thing to do."

"We know about his parents." Kendall informed her.

Scatty shook her head. "It's not only his parents that he lost. He lost someone he loved. Someone who meant very much to him."

"Who was it?" Carlos asked curiously.

"Someone very near and dear to his heart. It shattered him when he lost her." Scathatch answered evasively, her voice toned down with sadness. "He still dreams about that night. Do you see why now?" She asked them, her green eyes heavy. It suddenly struck the three band mates that Scathatch and Logan were not only allies, but close friends that cared deeply about one another. "Logan can't bear the thought of losing the ones closest to him. That's why he is so insistent that you stay here with him, why he never told you. He cares very deeply about each of you, something that he hasn't let happen in many decades. Don't judge him too harshly." She turned to James. "And yes, I am what you humani would call a Vampire. I don't have a reflection in some mirrors, I must be invited in, nor can I be photographed. But I do not drink blood. I'm a vegetarian, and such thoughts disgust me." James nodded in acceptance, the new information about their producer and immortal swirling around in his mind. He didn't get a chance to think on it for very long, because a very loud and distinct bell clanged in the distance. "Dinner's ready. Follow me." The Warrior Maid left the room and Kendall, James, and Carlos followed her through the halls of the World Tree to a large dining room fit with a long wooden table and glowing lamps on the walls. Spread out of the table was a feast of meats, fruits, and vegetables, and Logan was already seated on the left, cutting chunks off an apple with an arrowhead and popping the pieces into his mouth. He smiled when he saw them and motioned for them to sit.

"Our hostess will be joining us shortly." Logan informed them. "I believe that she is changing." Scathatch scoffed and sat in the chair next to him, Kendall, James, and Carlos taking the seats across from him. He noticed the weary expressions on his friends' faces and smiled in sympathy. "I apologize, again, for putting you all in danger. And for the actions of the Yggdrasil." He added. "I can see that you're beginning to tire. The World Tree feeds on the aura of a person and tires them." Glancing over the Alchemist revealed that he had a slight layer of exhaustion in his own chocolate orbs. The other three nodded, two satisfied with the apology.

Suddenly, Logan and Scathatch leapt to their feet and Kendall and Carlos followed, the blonde yanking James to his feet by the elbow. The pretty boy looked up.

Floating above the table and her guests was an elderly woman in her mid-sixties-or-seventies, dressed in a glittery black evening gown with her white hair a stark contrast to her jet-black skin as it flowed down her back. The elderly woman sat at the head of the wooden table and motioned for the others to be seated as well. "I have decided on your request." She rasped to Logan, her voice a creak and a croak away from vanishing away completely. The immortal dipped his head respectfully in return. "My answer is no. You five shall leave my realm at dawn. I do not want any more unwanted visitors." Logan nodded, although there was a distressed gleam that lingered inside his chocolate orbs.

"As you wish, Madame." Logan replied, his tone polite and polished. "I do not wish any disrespect on you."

The elder frowned. "You disrespected me by coming here unannounced. You shall leave at dawn. Who knows what other unwanted guests you may have attracted here."

"I apologize, I meant no disrespect." Logan dipped his head.

"I realize that, Alchemist. Which is why I am being as kind as to letting you all overstay your welcome." The woman replied.

"A kindness which is greatly appreciated." Logan replied softly. Carlos muttered something to Kendall. Scathatch huffed. James frowned.

"Your daughter was kind enough to let us stay." James informed her flippantly. Logan's head shot up and his eyes filled with horror.

"My daughter?" She repeated angrily, offense triggering in her butter eyes.

"Yes, or your granddaughter, you are old enough-," James didn't finish.

"I have neither a daughter nor granddaughter!" The elder shrieked as white hot fury burned in her features and her clothing began to rip and tear.

James yelped as he was shoved backward into the wall and the scent of blueberries, sour and rotten, choked his airway as the immortal producer stood defensively in front of him, his turquoise aura crackling and buzzing around him, tinted dark with anger. His hand was held out to the elder, the concentration of his aura making it look like he was wearing a thick turquoise glove, and the elder stopped in her tracks as Logan snarled something in a language of hurried and frantic clicks, his eyes tinted with turquoise. The elder spoke back in the same tongue and Logan growled fiercely under his breath, and James, Kendall, and Carlos all gasped at the shimmery turquoise armor that fashioned around his body. He and the elder stared back at one another until the elder retreated, huffing angrily and leaving the dining hall the same way she entered. The scent of rotten and sour blueberries faded as the armor around Logan vanished into nothing and the immortal stood up straight. "What the he-," Carlos began to gasp.

"James," Logan growled, and it was clear that the immortal was still very much angry. "Has just managed to piss off one of the most dangerous Elders on the face of the Earth. Had I not stopped her, he would be nothing more than a pile of broiling ooze. You have heard of manners, haven't you?" Logan snapped at the pretty boy.

"I just thought that her daughter-," James defended himself as Logan went back to his seat, and his apple.

"She has no children, James. That _was_ Hecate." Logan informed him coldly.

"The Goddess with Three Faces." Scathatch added. Logan forced himself to take a deep breath.

"Hecate has been cursed to age with the changing hours of the day." Logan explained, his voice calmer. "Maiden in the morning, matron in the afternoon, crone in the evening."

"How was I supposed to know?" James cried angrily.

"There was no reason that you should have." Logan answered, his voice heavy with tension. "But there was also no reason to be as rude as you were to her. Remember what I told you when we arrived at Scatty's dojo. You _wait_. You _listen_. You _notice_. You don't be rude or flippant to anything in this world, because that could very well get you killed!" Logan pinched the bridge of his nose and stood. "I'm going to bed. I suggest you all do the same. Hopefully Hecate will have forgotten all of this by morning and I can still salvage the use of our time here." The immortal turned and left the room.

"He was pissed." Kendall finally said.

"Only because the episode scared him." Scathatch answered patiently. "I have never seen him go face to face with an Elder like that before. I was fully prepared to intervene, but he already had." There was a hint of admiration for her old friend in her tone. "Hecate could have killed him very easily."

"What was it that he did?" Kendall demanded. "There was the whole armor-aura thing, but what _was_ that? If Hecate had the power to kill him without busting a nail, why did she back off?"

"Logan is far more powerful than anyone realizes. So many people, humani and Elders alike, underestimate him because he doesn't like to fight and engage in violence." Scathatch answered. "Not only is he able to bend and manipulate his aura to his will, he is also expertly trained in three of the four Elemental Magics. The Magics of Air, Water, and Fire. Hecate may have been able to kill him, but Logan would have put up an incredible fight. All because he is trying to protect the ones he cares about."

"What was that language he was speaking? And what did he say to her?" James wondered.

"It was the Tongue of the Elders. Another surprise. I had no idea he was able to master it." Scathatch shook her head, impressed. "He simply told her that if she insisted on harming any hairs on any of you that she would live to regret it. He threatened to lay waste to her entire Shadowrealm and anything inside if she so much as _glared_ in your directions. You managed to piss her off, James, but it was Logan that purely _intimidated_ her."

"He would do that?" Carlos blinked in shock. "He _could_ do that?"

"As I said, Logan is far more powerful than anyone realizes. He very well could, and he very well _would_."

SOFA

"That's it. I'm leaving." James announced, storming back into Kendall's room.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Carlos demanded incredulously. "Did you _not_ just see what just happened in there?"

"Did _you_?" James shot back angrily. "I was almost turned into a pile of goop!"

"Exactly!" Carlos exclaimed. "And the reason you aren't right now is because Logan, who has done nothing but look after us the past twenty-four hours, saved you from being turned into a pile of goop by going head to head with the most dangerous Elder on the planet! She could have easily killed him, but he didn't care! And did you forget about the dude that wants to release all the worst monsters and wants to _kill_ us!"

"Did you forget that it was _Logan_ who told us that? Who also told us that his name was Logan _Mitchell_ and wanted to make us all into the greatest band the world has ever seen just a year ago!" James retorted.

"Dude, are you even _listening_ to yourself right now?" Carlos argued back. "All the evidence is pointing to Logan and Scathatch being the good guys, and that if we leave them we all die or worse!"

"Kendall, back me up here!" They both shouted at the blonde, who raised his hands in surrender.

"I think Carlos is right. I think staying here is our better option at this point." Kendall piped up.

"I can't believe this!" James groaned. "Fine, you guys stay. I'm going home."

"Oh, no you're not." Said a voice from the doorway, and Kendall, James, and Carlos turned to see a very annoyed Scathatch in the doorway. "I don't know how anything can get any sleep with any of your shrieking going on here. If Logan hadn't intimidated her I'm sure that Hecate herself would have come down here to shut you three up." She drawled. "Come on, follow me." She commanded. She walked from the room and the boys followed her down the hall to Logan's bedroom, the door open, and she gestured to it. "Go on." She ordered. They swallowed nervously and padded inside, finding the Alchemist seated at the desk, playing with the arrowhead they had seen him use at dinner.

"I hear that you're ready to leave?" He began conversationally. The immortal raised his head, and Kendall, Carlos, and James all blinked in surprise at the bags and dark circles underneath his exhausted chocolate eyes. Maybe the scene at dinner, or even the day in its entirety, had worn him out more than the other three had realized. Carlos cleared his throat and nudged James harshly.

" _We_ just want to go home." James retorted with a pointed glance at Carlos.

"You can't." Logan answered simply. "I wish you could, I wish _I_ could, but you can't. _I_ can't."

"You-," Kendall's emerald eyes widened.

"I want to go home just as much as the rest of you." Logan nodded sadly. "I wish every day that I could. But I can't, just like you."

"Why?" Carlos demanded.

"Because a man named Abraham the Mage wrote a prophecy into his book, the very same book that our enemies now have." Logan informed them quietly. Even Scatty's jaw flexed in surprise at that. "I've spent years studying and translating the Book, and deep within the pages is a prophecy, one that I believe speaks of you three. Speaks of all of us." Logan swallowed. " _War will wage with the beginning of the end, when the immortal trains the mortal and the old fights against the new. The Sky and the Sea will align with Earth and Fire, the Four that are One, the One that is All. For to save the world, it must be destroyed._ "

"Why didn't you mention a prophecy before?" Scathatch demanded incredulously.

Logan shrugged helplessly. "I needed to be sure it was time."

"And you're certain it's us?" Kendall gulped nervously.

"I'm almost completely positive." Logan nodded seriously.

" _Almost_ completely?" James exclaimed.

"No one is ever completely sure of anything until it's made factual." Logan grinned at him. "But, hopefully tomorrow, I can say that I'm absolutely certain."

"Why? What happens tomorrow?" Carlos demanded.

"Hopefully by tomorrow before we are forced to leave I will have been able to convince Hecate to Awaken your magical potential." Logan answered plainly. "But, I _do_ need your consent first. Understand that the Awakening can be extremely dangerous, and almost anything can go wrong."

"Then why ask us to go through with it?" Kendall demanded.

"For one thing, Kendall, I have complete and total faith that you will come out of the Awakening with no harm to you whatsoever. I wouldn't ask if I didn't. The chance is so slim that I'm positive you won't." Logan smiled and winked. "And for two, well, if you don't, Scathatch and I will be left on our own to battle against Dr. Dee and his Masters, and it's a fight that we _will_ lose. Understand that if you don't, the world can and _will_ fall to chaos."

Carlos shared a look with Kendall and James before stepping forward. "I want to do this." He declared.

Kendall nodded. "So do I." All eyes fell on James, who huffed.

"Yes, okay. I'll do it." James declared.

"Good, then go get some rest. You'll have yet another long day tomorrow."

SOFA

Logan was awake before the dawn ever came. He never even closed his eyes or thought about sleep. Lately, he never really seemed to. Sleep, peaceful sleep, always seemed to evade him, and whenever he tried to sleep, he never got any rest anyways. So to him, there was no point in trying to sleep. He remained awake and at the small desk inside his bedroom, using his Awakened senses to study the inside of the Yggdrasil. He couldn't do much by sight, but his hearing and senses of smell did him wonders for discovering some of the World Tree's hidden secrets. It appeared that the Torc Alta didn't have much use for sleep either…

The Alchemist was so focused on the sounds around him, the boys' easy and deep breathing as they slept, the movements of the Torc Alta, and Scathatch cleaning her weapons, that it didn't surprise him when Hecate walked into his bedroom. "Good morning, Madame." He greeted respectfully, turning to face the goddess and bowing to her.

"No sleep tonight, Alchemist?" An eleven-year-old Hecate asked with a small yawn.

"I rarely need sleep." Was Logan's reply. Hecate harrumphed and turned away, walking out of the room with flowers blooming inside her footsteps. "Madame! Wait!" Logan called, racing after her. "Hecate! Stop!"

Hecate whirled on him, her eyes ablaze. "You dare-!" She hissed.

"I believe you saw last night just how much I dare to do." Logan retorted coldly, staring down at the Elder. "So, yes, I dare."

"What is it you want, Alchemist?" Hecate demanded icily.

"I want you to Awaken Kendall, James, and Carlos." Logan replied calmly. "They have agreed to the process."

"Because you convinced them!"

"Because I explained the risks if they do not. You know the prophecy as well as I." Logan forced out.

"Abraham was a fool."

"But was he ever wrong?" Hecate glowered at the Alchemist. "Hecate, please. My father entrusted me to his work. I've given up everything I have, all that I am, to ensure that it comes to fruition, that it never becomes vain. He died for this. I refuse to let that go to waste."

"They are the Four?" Hecate asked finally.

"Three of them." Logan nodded.

"Tell me, Alchemist. I know what you have lost, and what little you have gained." Hecate's eyes searched his own. "Do you still miss her? Do you still think of her? Do you still feel the sting?"

Logan's throat constricted and his eyes stung. "Yes, not a day goes by that I don't."

"When was the last time you spoke with her? Saw her? Held her?" Hecate pressed.

"That night in Paris." Logan's strangled answer came.

"And you still feel that there was more you could have done?"

"There was more that I could have done. There will always be more."

"What would you say to her?"

"There will never be enough words." Logan breathed, a suspicious wetness in his chocolate eyes. He cleared his throat. "But I cannot live in the past. I'm here now, so I'm going to make the most of it."

"You are still human, Logan Maxwell." Hecate mused.

"Since when was that a bad thing?" Logan retorted. "Please, Hecate, I beg of you. Help me to protect the present and the future. Awaken them."

The Goddess sighed, and finally nodded. "I will, but I want to know one more thing."

"Yes?"

Hecate's butter eyes turned on him, and he swallowed nervously. "What did you call her?"

Logan looked away from the goddess and out of the branches to the outside of the Shadowrealm, but Hecate knew that his gaze was focused nowhere near this time or this place. The Alchemist was silent for a long time, but the Elder merely waited patiently. She knew that the immortal chose not to think of these things for avoidance of pain, but pain could not always be avoided.

Logan licked his dry lips and ignored his wet cheeks. "Ebony." The Alchemist whispered hoarsely. "We called her Ebony."


	6. Chapter 5

The air was charged with nervousness and anxiety as Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, and Scathatch waited outside the designated chamber where it was decided the Awakening would take place. Kendall had decided to start humming to distract himself from his fear about ten minutes ago, and Logan, with his enhanced hearing, had caught on and was now humming along with him softly. Scathatch had taken out an iron dagger and was now sharpening it with acute precision, Carlos was clicking his heel against the wall of the Yggdrasil as he leaned against it, unknowingly following the tune of Logan and Kendall's humming, and James was pacing the floor in front of them with an anxious expression, gnawing on his bottom lip.

Suddenly, a hand caught onto the pretty boy's shoulder, and James turned his hazel gaze to meet the chocolate eyes of the Alchemist. "Relax." Logan told him gently. "Everything will be fine. I promise." James found himself nodding just as Hecate, who now looked to be in her late twenties, rounded the corner and wordlessly walked into the chamber. Logan nudged him forward. "Go on. I'll be right here the entire time." He encouraged, his tone like a father reassuring his scared child. Briefly, James wondered how he could master that tone before following Kendall and Carlos into the chamber. Logan slid down into a seated position on the floor and crossed his legs, intent on keeping his promise. Scathatch joined him, expertly hiding the smile.

SOFA

"Maxwell has asked me to Awaken the three of you," Hecate began, standing in the middle of the room with Kendall, Carlos, and James stopping just in front of her. "Personally, I would rather not; I have not Awakened another human in many generations. You should feel honored."

"Who, who was the last one you Awakened?" Carlos asked, his tone curious but cautiously respectful. He still had a perfectly clear picture in his mind of last night's events.

"It was many years ago, two millennia, by your current calendar I believe. A simple Englishman." Hecate answered. "I do not remember his name." Immediately all three knew that the Goddess was lying to them.

"What," James' voice cracked, and he coughed and tried again. "Whatever happened to him?"

"He was killed in a voyage across the sea." Hecate let out a childish giggle, one that unnerved the other inhabitants of the room. "There was a hurricane near his ship. No one survived." No one pressed the subject further.

"So, what do we do now?" Kendall asked nervously.

"You three do nothing." Hecate snapped. "This is a very dangerous process. You humani have greatly distanced yourselves from what you laughingly call magic. But it is only the usage of your own senses with power from the aura to give it form. Now, you only hear the loudest of sounds, notice only the most potent of smells and touches, and only the sweetest and sourest of tastes are recognizable to your own taste buds. Before you needed these senses to survive, but the humani found more ways to survive, and lost these senses."

"So, you're saying we grew lazy?" Carlos demanded.

Instead of getting angry as predicted, Hecate only smiled tenderly. "Very lazy." Hecate agreed wholeheartedly. "What magic is the power of the aura coupled with the senses. The greater the aura, the greater the magic. You three have the strongest auras I have seen in many years. What I do is give you the ability to use your auras to your will. The danger is that your bodies may not be able to handle it. Are you prepared to take such a risk?"

Carlos was the first to respond. "I am." He answered confidently.

Kendall and James shared a look and nodded. "We're ready." They agreed.

"Then let us begin. Since there are three of you, I shall start with the two eldest." Hecate announced. James opened his mouth to protest, but Kendall and Carlos shot him a look and stepped forward readily. Hecate paused. "What are your family names and parents' names?" She asked finally.

"Garcia." Carlos replied. "My mother's name is Sylvia and my father's is Leonardo."

"Knight. My mother is Jennifer and my father's name was Kevin." Kendall answered after a slight hitch at his father's name.

Hecate nodded and placed one hand on each of their necks. "Kendall Knight and Carlos Garcia, sons of Sylvia and Leonardo Garcia and Jennifer and Kevin Knight, race of the humani…" Hecate's voice drifted into the same clicking language that Logan had threatened her in last night, the Elder Tongue Scathatch had said. After a few moments, it became the same lyrical tongue they had heard when they first arrived, when she had examined their auras.

The sweet and sharp scents of the wisteria and coffee began to waft off Kendall and Carlos's skin, and the pair exhaled, realizing that Hecate's voice was no longer audible to them inside the room. Her mouth was moving, she was still speaking, but it was completely silent other than their own heartbeats and breathing inside the chamber. The sound of their own blood pounding inside their ears began to feel painful, like a sinus headache at the time of the season change. Kendall flexed his fingers and toes, feeling the headache grow at the base of his skull and a soreness settle deep into his bones.

Kendall's emerald eyes widened as the chamber brightened with the immediate appearance of Hecate's aura, a thousand golden lights flowing off her own body and into the air around her before dissolving into nothing. Joining the scents of coffee and wisteria was the fresh fragrance of crisp pomegranates, and Kendall jolted as the lights flowed from her fingers and to his own body, soaking into his skin where her fingers were pressed. His ears popped, and Hecate was not only audible, but _understandable_. "I awaken these terrible powers within you…" The Goddess rasped, moving both her hands to Kendall's forehead. The boy himself suddenly felt very dizzy, like the only thing keeping him grounded was Hecate's fingers against him. "These are the senses the humani have abandoned." She continued.

"To see with acuity," She hummed, pressing her thumbs to Kendall's eyes. She removed her fingers, and Kendall's emerald orbs widened in shock.

He could see. He could really _see_. It was like he'd been staring through a dusty film before, one that he'd always lived with but now…Kendall could perfectly trace every wrinkle and line of Hecate's face, spot every individual stitch and thread in her gown, effortlessly follow every dust mote as it invisibly moved about the air….The previously plainly lit room was brightly illuminated as if each of the flickering lamps on the walls-the grains of the wood too easy maps for Kendall's eyes to follow-were a thousand candles burning intensively.

"To hear with clarity…" Hecate continued, briefly cupping Kendall's ears with her palms before removing them.

Kendall blinked as the noises that he hadn't noticed before became blaringly loud. Hecate's strange heartbeat, Carlos's own frantic one, along with James', all three's breathing: two heavy and anxious and one calm and deep. The movement of the air even had a delicate sound, a small _whooshing_ noise that Kendall could hear without effort. Even past the thick walls, Kendall could make out the individual movements of individual Torc Alta-why were they so urgent? -Logan's steady heartbeat and breathing, it sounded like he was meditating, and Scathatch's weapons scratching against leather as she sheathed them. Kendall tilted his head slightly, far from the Yggdrasil, was that marching he heard?

Hecate's thumb followed the sharp contour of Kendall's nose, even giving a slight stroke to his nostrils, as she spoke quietly. "To smell with intensity…"

Kendall let his head fall back as his nose flared with the scents and aromas that were now so much more prominent. James' 24-hour deodorant, which _really_ needed to be applied more, his Cuda man spray, _that_ he could use less of, Hecate's breath on his face, a sweet sharp scent that Kendall had no name for, the scent of blueberries-why was Logan using his aura-and the smell of the Yggdrasil, something earthy yet otherworldly, another scent that Kendall found nameless other than Yggdrasil. And yet…there was something _more_ in the air, something Kendall thought was familiar but couldn't place…

"To taste with purity…" Hecate's fingers brushed against Kendall's lips, and he gasped as his tongue began to tingle and buzz with the taste of everything. He could taste the wisteria, the coffee, the pomegranates in the air, all mixing and settling on his tongue in a richingly sweet flavor that nearly made his mouth water. Even the air around them had a sweet, cloying flavor.

Hecate's hands settled back on the skin of his neck, cupping it securely before releasing him, and she whispered, "To touch with sensitivity."

Kendall's skin began to crawl and tingle. His clothes became scratchy and too tight, even though a minute ago they were soft and perfectly fit around his body. The cool metal chain of his guitar pick necklace felt like a million shots of ice on his skin, and the ring around his finger was no better. His shoes, now tied too tight in the laces, squeezed his feet. He could feel the breeze in the room that hadn't been there before, cooling his body that was now sizzling with heat. The floor of the Yggdrasil chamber was now unforgivably hard, and the air was blistering warm.

Kendall threw his head back and closed his eyes, the senses of his body now overwhelming him in a mad rush. Their job was to inform his brain of his surroundings, and they were doing just that all too eagerly. His steel grey aura crackled and popped around him as overwhelming became agonizing. His senses hurt him. His headache was now much worse than before. His skin crawled with a thousand spiders, and the ache in his bones was now a more attention-grabbing throb. Kendall, too enraptured with trying to deal with the onslaught, barely noticed as the ground disappeared beneath his feet.

Carlos didn't have time to ask if Kendall floating in mid-air, his back bent backward at a small angle with his aura nearly hiding him from sight, was a good thing or not before the same was done to him. The Latino had much of the same reactions as the blonde did, and James watched in alarm as Carlos rose off the floor in the same position as Kendall just a single moment later, his deep bronze aura pulsing widely. The pretty boy reached out to them, to check if they were alright, before Hecate stopped him. "Do not touch them." She commanded softly, but warningly. "This is the most delicate part. This is where anything can go wrong."

"What happens?" James asked.

"I have Awakened their senses, and now their mind and bodies are attempting to manage them. Either they accept the Awakened senses, or they reject them. In most cases, it rejects them."

"In _most_ cases?" James repeated.

"Almost every case." Hecate nodded.

"What happens if they reject the senses?" James demanded.

"If it is rejection, the mind and body both shut down and they fall into a coma from which they never wake." Hecate explained, and James gasped in horror. "This is why I was so unwilling to do this."

At the exact same time, Kendall's aura faded as the man himself was lowered to his feet, and he swayed, his green eyes glassy and darting back and forth. He looked ready to faint, and James raced over just in time to catch him as his knees buckled out from under him. "Some-something-something's," The blonde breathed, his voice hoarse and wispy. " _Something's_ _here_!"

Hecate frowned deeply and Kendall harshly flinched at the same time both their faces twisted in horror. "Kendall-Kendall, what is it? What's wrong?" James demanded.

"No!" Hecate screeched. "No!"

Carlos's eyes snapped open. " _Fire!_ " He screamed.

"They're burning the Tree!" Kendall gasped just as the scent of smoke became acknowledgeable to James.

Hecate abandoned the three men in the room, racing away as Carlos lowered to the floor and collapsed to the ground. Kendall leaned against the wall, panting heavily as James cradled the Latino to his chest, his hazel eyes darting back and forth from his two best friends. Their auras completely vanished just as Logan rushed in, his eyes and face frantic with fear. "What happened? Are you alright?" The immortal demanded urgently, running to Kendall first and looking him over while placing a strong hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Come on, Kendall, you gotta talk to me, bud." Logan demanded frantically.

"'M okay, 's just-," Kendall trailed off, his emerald eyes glancing around. "'s so much." He whispered. Relief washed over Logan's face and he nodded.

"It takes some getting used to. Trust me, you will." Logan promised.

"Trust you?!" James spat angrily. Logan turned to him in surprise. " _Trust_ you?! How can we trust you?! You _lied_ to us!"

"What have I lied about?" Logan demanded in shock.

"You didn't tell us the risks of this!" James shot back.

"I told you last night!"

"Carlos and Kendall could have gone into a coma! Hecate said in most cases-," James snarled.

"Not this case. That is the worst-case scenario, James." Logan knelt beside the pair and took Carlos's wrist, feeling for a pulse with his fingers. His chocolate eyes were warm and reassuring. "I didn't lie. Comas are the _worst-case scenario_. Hecate's a drama queen. Your auras, they're too strong. _You're_ too strong. If it was even in the realm of possibilities I wouldn't have asked you to do it. But it wasn't. Kendall and Carlos are _fine_. You would be too if Hecate had finished the Awakening." Logan grasped James' shoulder tightly, meeting the man's hazel orbs. "I only have your best interests at heart, James. The chances of anything bad happening in this room were so slim they were practically non-existent. And if anything had gone wrong I would have busted down the door the second it had. I told you I would stay right out that door and that's exactly what I did. I waited for you, just as I promised."

"I hate to interrupt." Scathatch rushed into the room, two short swords in her hands. "But we're under attack here." Logan and Kendall nodded. They could hear the sounds of battle outside, the screeches of cats and crows along with the roars of the Torc Alta.

The immortal glanced at Kendall. "Can you go into battle?" Logan demanded. Kendall hesitated. In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure. His new senses were becoming less painful, but it was still overwhelming and he was struggling to cope with them. A hand, callused and ridden with lines, gently grasped his chin and suddenly he was staring into deep depths of molten chocolate, traced with slight bronze and tinted slightly with gold. Kendall blinked in amazement as Logan studied his face. "Stay behind me and Scathatch." The immortal decided. "But be ready in case we need you." Logan grinned, the light bouncing off his pearly white teeth creating miniature rainbows. "Time for your first lesson in using your aura."

"So soon?" James protested.

"No better time than the present." Logan replied. "First off," Logan's aura bloomed brilliant turquoise around him and Kendall's steel grey aura crackled into vision in response. "Calling on your aura only takes a mere thought. Shaping it? Only another thought mixed with imagination and willpower. It's all on instinct. Your aura is an energy source that lacks direction. So direct it." Kendall nodded and James gathered the unconscious Carlos into his arms and followed Logan and Kendall out of the chamber, Scathatch bringing up the rear. Kendall winced as the rumbling from the battle became a sharp roaring. Logan squeezed his arm and ran down the hallway, aiming for the outside of the Yggdrasil. Kendall and James gasped at the destruction of the World Tree that had become a battleground, monstrous jungle cats and humongous crows fighting against the Torc Alta as bright orange flames licked up the side of the World Tree. Both Logan and Kendall gagged as a horrible stench hit their nostrils.

"What?" James demanded.

"Dee's here." Logan grumbled. A set of shining turquoise armor winked into existence, and Logan twirled a long metal staff in his hand. "We need to leave. If Dee has this massive army, there's no telling who he aligned himself with it to gain it, and it's a very real possibility that they are here with him." He squeaked as a panther lunged for him, and he swung his staff like a baseball bat.

"Home run." Kendall muttered as the panther transformed back into a tiny black kitten and sailed back over the battle with a long yowl. Logan winked.

"I could clear us a path." Scatty offered.

"Dee had to get here somehow. Search for a car." Logan commanded, the Warrior Maid nodding and leaping into battle. "Come on. On the roots." The immortal ushered Kendall and James onto the taller roots of the Yggdrasil. "First rule of battle, if there's high ground, take it and don't give it up unless absolutely necessary." Logan instructed, ripping a thick branch off the tree and passing it to James, who'd set Carlos down against the trunk.

Kendall began to sway as the loudness of battle became dulled, and a sweet scent of brown sugar delicately wafted around him. He felt as if someone were wrapping their arms around him, holding him in a loose embrace, and felt a gentleness that could only come from a mother. _Kendall_ , a woman's voice whispered in his ear, and he felt the ghost of her breath on his skin. _Kendall, allow me to help. I can help provide a way. Just let me speak through you…_

James staggered back as Kendall's aura fashioned into a bright steel beacon around him, his emerald eyes turning to flat metal disks and the scent of wisteria becoming intoxicating. Logan gasped in shock as a familiar whip formed in Kendall's hand, and the immortal yanked James backward as cats and crows alike dove for the group.

Kendall did not back away. Instead, he let the whip fly with a thunderous crack, and the crows and cats became harmless chicks and kittens. Kendall hardly blinked as more and more came at him, and as more and more kittens and jays and others fell to the ground, until this section of the massive army fell away. Kendall turned around and fixed his steely gaze on his companions. James swallowed a knot of fear as Kendall fixated on Logan. The blonde opened his mouth to speak, but it wasn't Kendall's voice. It was a woman's.

" _Logan_." Kendall breathed, his voice delicate and not his own. James glanced at Logan for an explanation, but was startled to see the Alchemist with tears brimming in his eyes. Kendall smiled. " _My darling, I am so proud of you. You have come so far_." Logan opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. There weren't enough _words_ , wasn't enough _time_ … " _Take them to Ojai_." Kendall whispered as his aura began to fade and he began to fall back. Logan lurched forward and caught the blonde, his tears spilling out onto his cheeks. " _Take them to the Witch_." Kendall breathed, and his eyes slid closed. Logan was silent, staring at Kendall as if hoping that he would wake up and say something else in that voice…But then he scooped the blonde up easily and turned to James.

"Get Carlos. We're leaving. _Now_." Logan commanded, his voice cracking but firm with no room for argument. James nodded and tossed away his branch, grunting as he picked up his friend. Carlos groaned and wriggled.

"Stay still." James murmured to him. Logan spotted Scathatch and whistled sharply, gaining her attention.

The Warrior Maid ran over, her swords drawn and bloody. "I've found Dee's car, but Hecate is dead."

"Which means we need to get out of here now." Logan grimly stated. "Lead the way."

"How could Hecate-," James demanded.

"Dee killed her. He has Excalibur." Scatty informed Logan. The immortal swore in what sounded like four different languages.

"Car. Go. _Now!_ " Logan hissed. Scathatch nodded and darted through the battle with Logan and James right on her heels, leading them to a parked Hummer just on the edge of the Shadowrealm. Scathatch and James crawled into the back and Logan passed Scatty Kendall before hopping into the drivers' seat and starting the Hummer.

"How can Dee have Excalibur?" James demanded as Logan put the Hummer into reverse and floored it backward. "Isn't Excalibur only a-,"

"Excalibur is the Sword of Ice." Scathatch explained. "Dee's Masters must have given it to him, or he found its whereabouts. There are four Swords of Power, each correlate with the Four Elemental Magics."

"We can discuss this later!" Logan roared, and Scatty and James held on tight as Logan spun the car around and floored it down the road, away from the destroyed Shadowrealm of a dead Elder.

SOFA

Logan drove the Hummer in tense silence back into Los Angeles and parked it right in front of a measly gas station. Kendall and Carlos were still very much unconscious, Carlos leaning on James as he slept in the second seat and Kendall laid out across the third seat with his head in Scathatch's lap. "I'll be right back." He informed them stiffly before hopping out of the car. James stifled a squeak as his shoulder was grabbed in a strong grip and he was spun backward to look into the evergreen eyes of the Warrior Maid.

"What happened at the Yggdrasil?" Scatty demanded in a whisper, mindful of the sleeping Kendall and Carlos. James quickly explained the events that happened after the Shadow had left them to search for the car. Scathatch blinked in surprise and nodded.

"What happened?" Carlos groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head as if nursing a massive headache.

"Hey, how do you feel?" James decided to ignore the Latino's question for now.

"Like my head's gonna explode." Carlos grunted.

The driver's side door opened and Logan hopped into the seat. "Try these and drink this." The immortal passed him a pair of black sunglasses and a bottle of red Gatorade. Carlos slid the shades onto his face and relaxed. "Better?"

"Much." Carlos agreed.

"Hecate didn't bother to teach either of you how to turn your Awakened senses on and off. They're stuck _on_ at the moment, but you'll get used to them. It's actually better this way." Logan explained. "The Elder that Awakened me didn't show me how to turn them off and on either. After some time, you'll filter the information from your Awakened senses the same way you did before, without pain or stress. But until then, sunglasses are like your best friend." Logan grinned as Carlos screwed the cap off the Gatorade and chugged half the bottle. "I grabbed some for Kendall when he wakes up."

"What happened to Kendall? Is he alright?" Carlos demanded. James raised an eyebrow at Logan.

Logan sighed. "Kendall's perfectly fine. He used a massive amount of his aura which he wasn't ready for. Other than food, sleep is the best recharge. He'll probably sleep for most of the drive." Logan searched Carlos's face in concern. "What all do you remember?"

"Mostly the Awakening. Then I could smell smoke, and I screamed." Carlos shrugged helplessly. "That's about it. Though, there was a smell of brown sugar..." He frowned in confusion.

"How could you smell that? You were passed out!" James protested.

"It's part of having Awakened senses. Even in sleep the senses are constantly gathering information and delivering it to the subconscious to be filed away for later use." Logan explained. "It does no harm, it's just how the senses work." Logan smiled kindly. "Though I would have liked it if you would have slept longer. You need to rest. I was out cold for an entire two days after _my_ Awakening. My father was worried that I actually _had_ fallen into a coma."

"So, what exactly had happened to Kendall?" James demanded sourly.

Logan licked his lips. "Someone very special, someone I knew very well, decided to help us by speaking through him." He explained quietly.

"So, he was possessed?" James spat.

Logan's eyes flashed with anger. "Of course not!" Logan hissed. "She asked _permission_ and Kendall _gave_ _it_!" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "And she gave us good advice on where to go next."

"Depends on how you look at it." Scathatch grumbled, running her fingers through Kendall's blonde locks gently.

"She told me to take them to the Witch, and that's exactly what I'm going to do." Logan growled.

"Who's this Witch?" Carlos asked softly.

"The Witch of Endor." Logan explained, his tone tense as he turned back to the steering wheel and turned the keys in the ignition, starting the Hummer. "She can help you and Kendall to learn the first Elemental Magic."

"Someone I'm not that eager to see." Scatty grumbled.

Carlos looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Another old enemy you're feuding with?"

Scathatch huffed. "Worse. She's my grandmother."

SOFA

James fell asleep shortly after the Hummer exited LA, but Carlos remained wide awake, gazing out at the window and to the landscape. It was both amazing and terrifying that he could spot every single blade of grass, trace the grooves on the trees, the lines in the leaves. Logan glanced back in the rearview mirror. "Daunting, isn't it?" The immortal asked softly.

"Very." Carlos nodded. "But it's kinda cool at the same time." He added. Logan laughed softly.

"After I woke up from the Awakening I couldn't stop _looking_." Logan admitted. "My father told me that it would be amazing, but I never dreamed it would be so much. I spent hours wandering places, just looking around, listening, even smelling everything that I couldn't have noticed before." He snorted. "I almost threw out my entire wardrobe because my clothes were suddenly too itchy. Luckily my father stopped me. We didn't have the money to go out and buy an entirely new set of clothes just because my sense of touch had quadrupled. Thankfully clothes today are cotton instead of wool, much better."

"And you got used to the senses?" Carlos asked uneasily.

"It took some time, but yes." Logan agreed. "I think it was about a month or so after the Awakening that I realized that I wasn't bothered by the influx anymore. I don't really remember the point that it shifted." Logan confessed. "Okay, I was forced to give Kendall a lesson in using his aura at the World Tree. Now it's your turn. Only instead of your aura, I'll teach you how to use your new senses." Logan rolled down his window only slightly. "Remember what I told you at Scatty's dojo. Look before moving, listen before hearing, and question everything. Now, what do you hear?"

Carlos tilted his head to the side. Everything, he wanted to tell the immortal. He could definitely hear James' 'quiet' snores, Scatty's easy breathing along with Kendall's deep breaths, all of their heartbeats, the wind against the car, the car's purring engine…

Carlos frowned thoughtfully. "There's a car coming up." He announced quietly.

"What kind? How far? How many inside?" Logan questioned calmly.

"I-Uhh.." Carlos fumbled.

"Relax. You should be able to tell me even more than _that_ just by hearing." Logan coaxed him. "Listen."

Carlos exhaled and closed his eyes. He could hear the separate car's engine, the grinding of the tires against the asphalt... "Five hundred yards in counting," Carlos decided. "Just one passenger...it's a Ford?" Carlos guessed uncertainly.

"Good job." Logan praised. "There is only one passenger, but he's on the phone with his girlfriend. Something about being late for dinner again." Logan agreed. "And the truck _is_ a Ford, a Ford F150 2WD, 1992 I believe."

"Should I have known what color it was?" Carlos asked sarcastically.

Logan shot him a toothy grin through the rearview mirror. "You actually told me more than I thought you would. You did very well. And its bright green." He added conversationally. "The make and model came from the sound of the engine. You can tell a lot by the engine sound. One of his tires is about to bust, too. The back right one I think. They need to be changed."

"How-?" Carlos demanded.

"It's like a scent. Everything has a sound. Some are barely distinguishable from one another, but with our senses and a little training, you'll be able to tell a 93 from a 94 like a pro." Logan grinned again.

"But how'd you figure out the color?" Carlos demanded. Logan just grinned cheekily and pointed out the windshield. Carlos peered out and blushed.

The road they were travelling on currently was a long straight stretch for the next few miles, and coming ahead, maybe three hundred yards away was a bright green 1992 Ford F150, with a single male in the driver's seat, one hand on the steering wheel and the other hold the phone to his ear. "Hecate told you that the basis of all magic is the utilization of all the senses paired with the power of the aura." Logan explained. "The finer the control on your senses, the better the control you have on the magic. I can and will teach you how to spot the needle in the haystack from a mile away. The senses are like any other muscle in the body, the more you exercise them, the stronger they'll get." Carlos climbed out of the second seat row and into the passenger. Logan grinned excitedly at him. "So, how about a game of Eye Spy?"


	7. Chapter 6

Logan parked the Hummer in an abandoned lot just outside Ojai's town square, slipping out of the car with a grumble. "Now I know how our limo drivers feel." Logan groaned as he stretched, his back cracking as he bent backward. Carlos chuckled. Another thing from Logan Mitchell: his hatred of driving long distances. He didn't mind _riding_ , it was _driving_ that he had a problem with. Carlos realized with a jolt that the Immortal Logan Maxwell and their producer Logan Mitchell were still one and the same, just the immortal alchemist part had been hidden away. Kendall, James, and Scathatch climbed out of the Hummer; the blonde just waking up five minutes before the car had entered Ojai. Like Carlos, he had been grateful for the sunglasses and the Gatorade Logan had provided.

Logan turned to Scatty. "Where-?" He began.

"She has an antique shop just down the street. Three minutes' walk, maybe less." Scathatch replied.

"Can you tell us about her?" James asked curiously.

"She's grumpy, irritable, and moody. That's when she's in a good mood!" Scathatch answered as they began walking.

"And when she's in a bad mood?" Carlos asked.

"You don't want to be in the same city as her!"

It was only a minute or so later that they reached a small shop with a sign that said _Endor's_ _Antiques_ on it in curly handwriting. On the door was a second sign, albeit smaller. "Gone out to lunch, be back at one-thirty." Logan read with a frown. James checked his watch. It was nearing two. Kendall frowned and pushed the door open. It was unlocked, and inside a tiny bell jangled. The group entered the shop only to discover that it was empty of life, but not of china and glass knickknacks, the walls covered with shiny mirrors of all shapes and sizes.

"Do you smell that?" Carlos asked Kendall. The blonde's nostrils flared and he nodded.

"What?" James demanded. It hit him in the gut that his best friends were suddenly very different than himself, and he decided that he didn't like it.

"It's…woodsmoke." Logan sniffed deeply. "Woodsmoke in the fall. Not very old, say an hour?"

"We're in the right place then." Scathatch nodded, then caught the blank looks on the other fours' faces. "That's the odor of the Witch." She explained.

"I'm gonna go look for her." Logan declared, and turned to the Shadow. "How will I recognize her?"

The immortal was sent a wolfish grin, the white teeth of the Warrior Maid gleaming and creating miniature rainbows. "You'll know her when you see her." She said mysteriously. Logan nodded and hurried out of the shop, the tiny bell above the door jingling. It wasn't three minutes later that the bell jingled again, and Logan was back, escorting an elderly lady into the shop. The woman had short silvery hair and a weathered face, and was dressed in a blue blouse with jeans and flats, and had dark sunglasses and walked with a red and white cane. One arm was looped through Logan's.

"May I introduce…" Logan paused. "What should I call you?" He asked the woman.

"Oh, call me Dora. Everyone does." She answered kindly, then froze. "Scathatch? Scathatch!" Dora let go of Logan and ran over to the Warrior Maid, embracing her tightly.

"Hi Gran." Scatty replied uncomfortably, lightly patting Dora on the back.

"Don't you 'Gran' me!" Dora scolded, pulling back and keeping her hands on Scatty's shoulders. Kendall, James, and Carlos noticed that she never looked _directly_ at the Warrior Maid, instead sweeping her head back and forth to look into the many mirrors that lined the walls. "You could have called you know!"

"Gran, you don't have a phone." Scathatch reminded her.

"Well, what's wrong with email? Or a fax?" Dora demanded.

"Do you have a computer or a fax machine?" Scathatch asked back with a small smile of amusement.

"No. Why would I need one of those for?" Dora replied with a raised eyebrow. Scatty fully smiled and hugged her gently.

"It's good to see you Gran. You look well." Scathatch told her.

"I look old. And how old do I look?" Dora demanded, pulling back.

"Not a day over six thousand." Scathatch grinned as Dora pinched her cheek.

"The last one to mock me got turned into a paperweight. I still have it here somewhere." The Witch informed her.

"I assume that you met Logan?" Scathatch asked, gesturing to the immortal.

"Yes, I have indeed met Mr. Flamel. Such a nice young man." Dora purred happily. Logan smiled and dipped his head.

"I'm not so sure about 'young' anymore." Logan joked back.

"Bah." Dora snorted. "You were given immortality for a reason, Mr. Flamel." Kendall, James, and Carlos glanced at Logan in surprise.

The Alchemist shrugged. "My father's family name was Flamel. I haven't used it in some time." He explained.

"Oh, so you go by your mother's name now?" Dora asked interestedly.

"Yes, but I answer to either. Call me whichever you like." Logan replied with a shrug.

"I've always preferred you as Logan Flamel. It has a better ring to it, and it tells of the remarkable line of men before you." Dora informed him.

"Flamel?" Carlos echoed questioningly. "As in-,"

"My father was Nicholas Flamel." Logan confirmed.

"Such a skilled alchemist in his time, and you've lived up to the expectation. Far surpassed it in my opinion." Dora mused. Logan blushed deeply.

"Dora, have you heard of this morning's events?" Logan asked.

"I have." Dora agreed. "Actually, I saw them a little over a month ago." The Witch lifted her glasses. Scathatch didn't move, and the only surprise portrayed in Logan was the slight flex in his jaw. Carlos, Kendall, and James backed away in horror. Replacing her eyes were two reflective mirrors that filled the empty sockets. "I traded away my eyes for the Sight." The Witch explained. "I can see each and every thread of time."

"You saw Hecate? And you didn't warn her?" Scathatch demanded in surprise.

"There were multiple threads. In one, Logan slew Dee in the battle of the Yggdrasil. In another, Logan was killed by Hecate and in turn killed by Scathatch. In another you were killed in the Awakening. Only this morning did I know which would happen." Dora explained. "In only one thread did you all survive and make it here."

"We only survived in one thread?" Logan demanded. There was no mistaking the fear in his voice.

"Only one." Dora confirmed.

"That's not good is it?" Logan swallowed.

"Not at all." Dora shook her head, and Logan fell silent, his chocolate eyes betraying his distress at the news.

"Dora, please, we need your help." Logan began to plead. "Dee-,"

"Has managed to steal the Book from you." The Witch finished for him, her voice calm and even. "I know this, as well as I know that you fear what could happen if the doctor manages to steal the final pages from you as well."

"I can't risk what could happen. The world could very well end!" Logan's voice ended in a fearful whisper.

But the Witch only grinned. "The world has ended many times, young one. I'm certain it will end many more times before the sun turns black." Dora sighed. "You came here to ask me if I would teach the boys the Magic of Air. I can see that you even hope that I will Awaken the boy. But I cannot. That is a job for the others."

James' gaze snapped to the old woman. "There are others that can Awaken me?" James demanded incredulously.

"Plenty others." Dora nodded, and glanced at Logan through one of the many mirrors. "I can see that your father had you trained in three of the four Magics. If you are indeed the Sea, you must have the Magic of Earth." Severe doubt flickered in the immortal's chocolate eyes, but he nodded anyway, but Scathatch knew it was just to appease the Elder.

"So will you teach them?" Logan demanded.

Dora nodded. "I will."

Kendall smiled at her. "Thank you." Carlos nodded in appreciation and agreement.

"Do not thank me!" Dora snapped at them. "This is not a gift that I give, but a curse!" Her reflective eyes settled on James through another mirror. "You must leave." She informed him.

"Why?!" James demanded shrilly.

"The teachings are not for the senses of a simple humani." The Witch retorted coldly.

"They're all human! The only ones not human are you and Scatty!" James argued heatedly, gesturing around the room at Logan, Kendall, and Carlos.

"James," Logan breathed quietly, sadly. "We're all human, but…" He shared a glance with Kendall and Carlos that caused a realization to spark in their eyes, and a solemn gaze to be turned in James' direction.

And that realization settled like a rock in the pretty boy's stomach. Kendall, Carlos, and Logan _were_ human, _born_ human, just like him. But now, they were so much _more_ than human.

Something that he was not. "Yeah, okay." James muttered sourly. "I'll just wait outside then."

"James." Logan reached for James' arm, but the brunet stormed past him, paying him no mind as he pulled the shop door to a sharp close behind him.

"Well," Dora began briskly. "Let's get started, shall we?" Logan leaned against the wall of the shop and closed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, and Scathatch found a chair and sat down. "How old are you both?" She asked Kendall and Carlos.

"Twenty-one." They answered her.

Dora sighed. "I can't even remember back that far." She turned to the Shadow. "Do you remember when you were twenty-one?"

"Vividly." Her granddaughter answered with a wince. "That was the time you tried to marry me off to King Nebuchadnezzar."

"Oh, yes." Dora nodded happily and gently took one of the boys' hands in both of her own. Her touch was oddly smooth and supple for a woman of her age, with only a few wrinkles in her palms. But it was also very, _very_ cold. "He would have made a terrific husband, you know." She informed Scathatch, who just rolled her green eyes. "Do you talk to your mothers?" She asked them. Again, they both nodded.

"I speak to her every day." Carlos answered.

"I see her every other day." Kendall replied.

"Hear that?" The Witch asked Scathatch pointedly. "Every day and every other day." The Warrior Maid rolled her eyes again but chose not to answer. "And your grandmothers?" She asked.

"I call her every Wednesday." Carlos replied with a pang of guilt. Today was Thursday, which meant that Abuela Garcia had been waiting the entire day yesterday for his call.

Kendall swallowed thickly. "Mine passed away last year." He answered in a soft voice. Logan opened his eyes and fixed him with an apologetic look. The immortal had been with him when the blonde had received the phone call that Grams Knight had passed on, and had held him as Kendall cried at the initial news.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Dora whispered softly. Kendall swallowed and looked down, gasping at what he saw. His hands were being wrapped as a mummy would be, with some sort of clear white translucent substance. It felt as light as air, and just as cold as a winter breeze. Carlos looked down at his own hands and spotted the same thing, and the wraps continued to weave up their wrists and around their arms. "It's solidified air, mixed with my own aura," Dora explained calmly, just as their own auras bloomed softly to life, deep bronze and sharp steel, their eyes reflecting the glows. As the wraps spun tightly around their elbows, voices, soft and airy and extremely quiet, pricked at the edges of their minds as visions of far away and long gone places flashed like movie reels stuck on fast forward flashed across their sight. Slow enough to spot them as they zoomed along, but too fast to register what it was that they had seen.

One voice grew stronger than the others, and Kendall and Carlos found themselves falling, falling, falling into the reflective mirrors that were the Witch of Endor's eyes. " _Some will tell you,"_ The voice began, one Kendall and Carlos recognized as the Witch's, but stronger, more youthful and full of power, " _That the Magic of Fire, Earth, or even Water is the strongest of all the Magics, but they are wrong. The Magic of Air outmatches all the others. Air can churn water, fuel and starve flame, and rip the earth…_ "

Logan watched as Kendall and Carlos's eyes began to resemble shining mirrors as the bandages of the Witch wrapped tightly around them, spreading up and down their torsos to their legs and head. He watched with worry and confusion. His instructor had used a technique extremely different than this, and it made him wonder, was the Witch teaching them something completely other than the Magic of Air? And if so, what?

Logan began to cough as a burning stench filled his nostrils, one that he instantly recognized. Sulfur. " _Dee_!" He hissed angrily, just as Carlos and Kendall's bandages fell from them and they wobbled as if dizzy.

"Dee's here?" Kendall gasped.

Scathatch growled and followed Logan out the door of the shop, into a thick mist that had gathered on the street. A mist that smelled just enough like rotting eggs. "He is really beginning to get on my nerves!" The Warrior Maid grumbled.

Logan tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "What are you doing?" Carlos demanded. "We have to find James and get out of here!"

"I agree." Logan breathed, maintaining his position on the stoop of the shop. "He who retreats lives longer."

"Then what are we doing?" Kendall demanded, frightened.

"Seeing what we're up against." Logan replied calmly, tilting his head to the side with his eyes still closed. "Even with my sight, I can't see very well through the mist. Not well enough to see who's James, who's Dee, and who Dee has called to aid him. Dee must have put a spell on the fog, kept it from being easy to see through, even with Awakened senses." The immortal explained.

"Then what are you doing?" Kendall demanded.

"He's _listening_." Carlos realized, recalling his lesson on mastering his Awakened senses. "What are you hearing?"

"I can hear Dee." Logan's brow furrowed. "He's definitely cast some sort of spell, I can hear his breathing. He's worn himself out. Whatever magic he's done, it's cost him heavily. We won't be seeing him, only his handiwork." Logan swore under his breath in French. "Why did I let James leave? I should have gone after him!"

"Let me try something." Carlos offered, biting his lip and flicking his wrist out towards the street. A gust of coffee-scented wind flew from his fingers and into the mist, striking a dark silver Jeep parked on the other side of the road and causing its alarms to sound. Carlos flinched. "Whoops?" He tried sheepishly.

"Nice try." Logan patted his shoulder. He gasped and pulled Kendall back toward him just as something emerged from the fog, followed by a second and a third. None of them alive. The skeletons clattered and clacked toward the group, followed by a selection of mummies. "Necromancy." Logan breathed in horror. "Dear god, he's raised the dead."

"He can do that?!" Carlos squeaked.

"Apparently so!" Logan agreed. "Mummies and skeletons, what next?" Scathatch leapt in front of the trio and snapped the head off an army skeleton.

"Do you like my army, Logan Flamel?!" Dee's voice boomed from the mist. Logan gritted his teeth angrily, and the scent of soured blueberries mixed with the light smell of sulfur. His eyes turned to bright turquoise coins.

"He's raised the entire cemetery from the old mining town!" Scathatch realized. "No one here is dressed in anything made from beyond 1880!"

Logan growled and his hands blazed with blue fire, and he stood beside Scatty, shoving back on a skeleton's ribs and sending it to the asphalt in a tumble of clattering bones. "Kendall, get the Witch!" The immortal commanded. "We'll need her help if we're going to find James and get out of here!"

"She can't help us!" Carlos yelped, ducking away as a skeletal fist aimed for his face. Kendall growled and clocked the skeleton's skull, and it fell into a pile of harmless bones. "She's given everything she has to me and Kendall. She has no power left!"

" _Everything?_ " Logan echoed in disbelief. Now he knew exactly what the Witch had done to Kendall and Carlos. She'd not only taught them the Magic of Air, she'd given every ounce of her power and memory over to them. That meant there was only one option. "Then you'll have to do something!"

"What?" Carlos cried. He couldn't think of anything the Witch had taught him. He froze as the unmistakable scent of wisteria filled his nose, and turned just in time to see Kendall's aura blaze to life, stunningly bright molten steel light enveloping his best friend like a cloak, the same light glowing in his eyes like flat disks. Hesitantly, he put his hand on Kendall's shoulder, and his own bronze aura pulsated like a frantic heartbeat around him, his eyes shining like deep bronze plates, and the scent of freshly brewed coffee enriched the air around them.

Logan let the fire on his hands die, too amazed by what he was seeing. " _Sky and Earth_." He breathed in awe.

With a roar, Kendall raised his arms with a rotate of his torso, a strong gale of wisteria-scented air following the blonde's fingertips as he fashioned, not one or even _two_ , but _three_ twirling twisters and unleashed them on the undead army of the doctor. Bones were swept up into the galling winds controlled by Carlos and Kendall both, combined in auric power. "James!" Carlos's voice boomed and echoed in the area around them. "James, where are you? James!"

"Your friend is considering his options!" Dee's voice answered from an unknown location in the mist. Traces of exhaustion were beginning to wear on Kendall and Carlos's faces, and one of the tornadoes wobbled and unraveled. Carlos's hand dropped from Kendall's shoulder and his arm wove around the blonde's waist, the Latino gritting his teeth and his aura flaring up, flowing off his own skin and onto Kendall's. The remaining twisters doubled in size.

But Logan knew it wouldn't last. Kendall and Carlos would eventually become too exhausted to carry on. "Where is he?!" Logan hissed, backing up to cover his boys from the front. "I need to know where he is before I can do anything!"

"I lived in Ojai once before, and during my time here I discovered an old cemetery in the peaks! And now, here they are!" Dee cried gleefully. The twisters shrunk. Kendall and Carlos felt waves of exhaustion crash over them like tides. This was the price of using magic. The second twister shook and vanished, but Kendall grabbed ahold of the iron post of the stoop for support as his knees wobbled. He could do this. _They_ could do this. Kendall gritted his teeth and managed to keep the third twister alive, despite Carlos' grip on him growing looser by the minute. "A word from me stops them, Flamel." Dee informed Logan. Logan's lips drew back in a snarl. "Give me the pages!"

"Never!" Logan spat. "I just need one glimpse, where are you hiding?!" Dee's snickering only caused Logan's temper to further well up within him.

"James, we have to find James." Carlos whimpered weakly. Kendall was beginning to shake. Carlos was panting as if he were running a marathon. Sweat slicked at both their skins.

No. Kendall shook his head. He wasn't going down like this. Not to this monster that had kidnapped his best friend. Kendall gathered his remaining strength, and drew the last of what Carlos had to offer him.

Logan dropped to the ground as a tidal shockwave of bronze and steel preceded on the army of skeletons and mummies, obliterating them to nothing more than dust. He turned his head just in time to see Kendall and Carlos fall to the ground in sweaty and exhausted heaps, gasping for air like they had nearly drowned. Logan held his side, breathing heavily as well, and scrambled up the steps to his boys. He reached out and took their hands in both of his, their auras dimly glowing on their skin, a sign of how truly exhausted they were, and his own turquoise glow flowing off his hands and sinking into their skin. Their ragged gasps slowed to deeper labored breathing, and the shakes and sweating slowed to a near stop as Logan himself began to pant and sweat. "What-?" Kendall croaked roughly.

"Energy transfer." Logan explained tiredly. "Like a shot of the strongest coffee. Not the best solution, but until we can get to a place where you can recuperate and rest, it'll do."

"Just give him the pages, Logan." Scathatch called.

Logan shook his head stubbornly. "I won't. My father gave his life to protect the Book. I spent mine doing just that. I won't let it be for vain."

"He who retreats lives longer." Scathatch reminded him. Logan glared at her and shook his head.

"Prepare to die, Logan Flamel! Say hello to your father for me!" Dee shouted. Logan gritted his teeth.

"James, where's James?" Carlos weakly breathed. "We have to find James."

And suddenly, the dead were gone.

Kendall didn't understand what happened. Something had screeched, there had been a tearing of metal against metal. And then silence, and in the silence, the dead had fallen apart.

Something moved in the fog. Logan's aura blazed to life, and Scathatch tightened her grip on her blades. James walked out of the mist, his expression sheepish. "I've wrecked the car." He confessed. Logan grinned broadly, his aura vanishing from existence.

"James." Carlos breathed happily, he and Kendall grinning as much as they could.

"Don't just sit there!" The Witch called from the door to the shop. "Come! This way! Quickly!" Logan scrambled to his feet and wrapped his arm around Kendall's waist to pull the exhausted blonde to his feet, James doing the same with Carlos, and hurried into the shop. Dora slammed the door shut behind them and locked the deadbolt. "That won't hold them for long." She muttered. "We have to get you all out of here."

"I thought you had no powers left." Kendall tiredly protested.

"I don't." Dora confirmed. "But this place does. Ojai was built on an intersection of ley lines." James opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but was beaten to the punch by an answer.

"Invisible lines of energy that crisscross the globe." Carlos answered.

"How did you-," James began.

"Guess the Witch taught us." Carlos shrugged.

"Most of the world's most famous sites are built on the intersection of ley lines." Kendall continued.

"Exactly." Dora smiled, pleased. "Couldn't have said it better myself." Dora walked over to a wall that instead of mirrors, was covered by a long curtain. She pulled it away to reveal a tall silver mirror with a golden frame. "Seven ley lines meet here, forming a leygate."

"Here?" Logan muttered in surprise. He'd thought that many, if not most, leygates had been destroyed.

"Right here." Dora tapped her foot in confirmation. "Do you know how to use one?" Logan shook his head. He's never once had the need to find a leygate, let alone use one. "You use a mirror." She smiled at Kendall and reached for his hand. "Give me your hand, young one." She took Kendall's hand delicately and pressed his palm to the glass. Kendall's hand softly glowed the color of steel, and the same light flared brightly in the glass. The frame shone with a steely light as the glass itself cleared, revealing, instead of a reflection of the antique shop, a dimly lit spacious room with a dark wood floor.

"Where?" Logan asked.

Dora smiled at him widely. "Paris."

"France." Logan breathed happily. "Home." Without a second thought, he and Kendall hopped through the mirror, both turning and waving at the other three of the group.

"I hate leygates." Scatty muttered. "Make me nauseous." She stepped through the mirror and turned back around, her hand over her mouth and looking a light shade of green.

"Travel by mirror, huh?" Carlos muttered, and jumped through the mirror with a slight stumble. Kendall caught him and steadied him.

James jumped as Dr. John Dee burst through the front door just as he was going to step through the mirror. His expression of glee at catching his foes morphed into rage as Dora shoved James toward the mirror and through it, then pulling it down to the floor where it shattered to a million pieces. "Whoops." The Witch grinned at him with no humor or warmth, and pushed up her glasses. Dee recoiled in horror at the reflective surfaces that replaced her eyes. "I suggest you run. You have three seconds."

Dr. John Dee barely made it out of the store before it exploded.

 _ **END OF BOOKE 1.**_


End file.
